As Long as Anyone Believes-Daily Meditation July 18, 2022
Today’s quotation:
As long as anyone believes that their ideal and purpose is outside them, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, they will go outside themselves and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. They will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found–in themselves.-Erich Fromm
Today’s Meditation:
It really is an exercise in futility to try to find fulfillment or happiness or purpose outside of ourselves. Writer after writer, person after person, teacher after teacher have given us this truth, yet we still look for validation of ourselves outside of ourselves, ignoring the advice of those whose experience has taught them one of the most important lessons available to human beings. My personal fulfillment cannot come from my job performance or promotion or my material possessions or my relationships. My personal fulfillment can come only through a strong sense of self, strong respect for myself, and a recognition of my amazing personal potential–and true efforts to reach that potential.
Until we truly believe this, though, we’ll continue to look for fulfillment in things and people outside of ourselves, and in times apart from our present. And there are people out there who want to keep you in this trap–especially marketers and advertisers who would like to convince you that you’ll find fulfillment if you buy their products or purchase their services. And that’s tempting for us to believe–because it’s a much easier approach to life and living. It doesn’t take as much effort to go out and buy something or to do something that someone else tells us to do.
But our fulfillment is up to us, and us only. Only we can bring ourselves to a point at which we’re at peace with who we are and what we’re doing. Only we can find a space in which the things that happen around us don’t bring us down or put us in a bad mood or frustrate us to no end.
You’ve already been given all the gifts and abilities you need to live a fulfilling and beautiful life. But are you looking for the treasure on some island somewhere far away, or are you mining the treasure in your heart and spirit?
Questions to consider:
Why do people seem to try so hard to find fulfillment in things outside of themselves? Is this an effective approach to life?
What kinds of gifts do you have inside of yourself? Do you use them regularly?
Why do we tend to search for the easiest ways of approaching life?
For further thought:
Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment.-Anthony Robbins
