Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
-Confucius
I am guilty of making life harder than it is. Maybe it’s because I want to believe that it cannot be easy.
Just like I was taught.
When I look back at my life, I recognize so many self-destructive behaviors, actions, and decisions that I made that caused me pain.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I get it.
We all know the basic principles of a well-lived life…
Like attracts like.
Gratitude is the foundation of prosperity.
Worry never solves problems.
Create, not destroy. Add value always.
Give to receive, receive to give.
L.O.V.E. – Let Others Voluntarily Evolve.
There are thousands of basic principles that we learn in childhood, that are reinforced over and over during our lives.
But we ignore them. They apply to everyone else…
Not me. I am different. You don’t understand. I am different.
When I stepped into Narcotics Anonymous for the first time, I heard a brilliant addict-in-recovery state “When you begin looking for similarities, and stop looking for differences, healing will begin”.
The basics of life are not that difficult.
We are all more similar than different.
But we look for the differences. We think we are the exception.
I am the exception. You don’t understand.
My life has to be hard. You don’t understand. I am different.
I am not worthy of an easy life.
My past will not allow me to…
Some time ago I began looking for similarities in people. I began looking for commonalities in problems we have, and joy we find.
And I found the similarities. It is now more obvious to me than ever.
What you feel inside, you feel outside. Life works inside out.
We all want our external life to be easy, but we torture ourselves inside because we do not feel easy is available to us.
You don’t understand. I am different. I am not worthy of easy.
As I meet people, as I understand others more, I understand myself.
As I understand myself, I understand others.
We want the world to be a peaceful place, full of love, full of hope, full of joy, full of prosperity.
But we feel we are not worthy of those things on the inside. We want that for everyone else…
… but we do not allow ourselves to experience those things.
What I have found is that as I let go of the false narrative that I am not worthy, as I let go of guilt, shame, fear, despair as I embrace love, joy, compassion, hope, peace… prosperity inside…
I am seeing those things come to life in my outer world.
The world is kind, loving, and prosperous.
They are all available, we just need to allow ourselves to have them.
I made the decision to allow myself to have an easy life. To experience peace. To experience hope, to experience joy.
I had to find those things on the inside first. I had to give myself permission to be kind to myself.
I had to be what I wanted.
The similarities are obvious… people who are hard on themselves have a hard life. People who are loving to themselves have a prosperous life.
All aspects of life. What you see in one area of life is present in all. Change one, change them all.
Simple is beautiful. Look for simple.
It is easy to make things hard, hard to make things easy.
We fear giving up our worries because we fear we will lose control of things we ultimately cannot control.
We want control. We feel despair when we cannot control everything.
We want everything on our own terms. Life has to be hard.
Yesterday I had a burst of energy and I was hit with a jolt of inspiration.
Life is a playground. My job is to fully embrace who I am and play a little harder today than I did yesterday.
PLAY HARD.
Life is a playground. Play. Play hard. Enjoy yourself. It is available. You are worthy.
Love yourself enough… give yourself permission to play. Enjoy. Smile with others. Laugh with others. Strangers. We are not that different from strangers we meet. We want the same things.
Some allow themselves to have what they want. Since they love themselves, they feel worthy, and they accept.
Some push happiness away.
Life must be hard.
Life does not need to be hard. Life is a playground. Challenges will come. They always will.
But as my coach has so effectively taught…
“When the storms come, dance in the rain.”
Life is a playground. If we play hard, we will find our destination. Our goals. Our dreams.
Our job is to just allow ourselves to play. Find your favorite swing. Know you are worthy of that swing. Slide down the slide. Teeter and totter.
Just enjoy. You are worthy.
Like attracts like. The happier you are, the happier you will be.
Gratitude is the foundation of prosperity. Be grateful for what you have, and you will find peace.
Worry never solves problems. Holding onto worry will never give you the outcome you seek. Dance in the rain.
Create, not destroy. Add value always. People deserve your best.
Give to receive, receive to give. Find pleasure in service.
L.O.V.E. – Let Others Voluntarily Evolve. We are all the same, and the more we realize that the more compassion we will find.
Life is a playground. Play hard. Love hard. Act like a child. You are worthy.
Life is only hard if you make it hard.
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This post was previously published on Mike Kitko and is republished here with permission from the author.
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