Alive

"Look at that man, bloated by self-importance— full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive."

Habakkuk 2:4

Don't we all think that to be really alive we need to look for number one? I mean to be really alive is to have all the things that life can afford! Can a person you lives in the rain forest living in a hut with little clothes, no boat to ride in on the weekend, no car to travel around in, no air conditioner, no heat, no bottled water, no gym to work out in, no television to watch, no sports to cheer for, no bank to put their money in, no insurance to take care of them if they get hurt, no chair to sit in, no mattress to lay on to sleep- can they be fully and really alive? It is how we tend to live, is it not? That we must have the best of everything, we can't live without certain things, it all has to be just right for us for us to truly enjoy our life and be fully and really alive.

I think that we all are truly alive, not because we are bloated by our own self-importance, but because we are connected to God spiritually. These "things" leave our soul empty, they do not fill up anything but our self importance. They leave no room for God. To be trully connected to God, our life must be less full, more empty, more quiet, less busy, and more mindful. God can only come to the quiet mind and life. If we are so full of things and stuff. And so full of worries about our things and stuff. And so bloated by our worry that we do not have enough stuff, or time to enjoy them, or money to pay for them, or insurance to cover them, or that life cannot be enjoyed without them - how is there any room for God at all?!

You see it is the person who is empty that has room for God. It is the person who is not bloated and worried about their own importance that can be filled and connected to God. It is the person who can be filled with God that is standing right before God and can steadily believe that all is well and be fully alive - really alive! They are truly, really, fully alive - not because they do everything right or keep all the rules - but because they commune with God in every moment. They appreciate each moment, love each moment, because they can be fully present in each moment! This produces peace, joy, fulfillment and this leads to "right" behavior. This person is no longer consumed with anger, resentment, frustration, anxiety because there is nothing to have all those feelings about - there is no bloated feeling!

Today do all you can to live in each moment. Do all you can to let go of things. Give them away, let them go, and do not buy another one! Allow yourself to connect to God because you just enjoy living. Is this not what the tribes in the rain forest do everyday? They do their chores, their work, and then they just enjoy living with what they have. They are empty and somehow connected to something bigger than themselves.

Namaste'