Get to Work!

Almost a year ago now, I left corporate America.   I was the Vice President of Human Resources for two of the largest furniture companies in the world.   I was being groomed to be an SVP of Human Resources.   I had health insurance, a ‘designer’ dog that cost at least one paycheck, and a small estate in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Saint Louis.  The interior of my house looked like a copy of House Beautiful and my car had heated leather seats.   I was living the American dream.     

Since then, like clockwork, my mother asks me at least once a week when I am going to “get to work.”

I thought it best to address, then, my latest work, so she doesn’t worry so much.

Lately, I have been asking people the question, “Are you happy?”  And, I have learned something about how people answer that question.  

When I asked some of my friends who are working, making great money, and “living the dream,” the answer is explanatory.   They say something like the following:

“Well, I suppose it depends on how you define happiness.  I mean, what does ‘happiness’ mean?  I have everything I want.   I like my job.   I take vacations when I want.   I enjoy my kids.   Hmmmm.     Yeah.  I guess I am happy.  I mean, it depends what you mean, right? I have moments when I am frustrated for sure.   I wish I had more time.  I wish I got along better with my partner.   I wish work wasn’t so crazy and rushed all the time.   I wish …”   

I also have a few friends who live ‘alternative’ lifestyles… those who have traded a nicer car for one that simply runs.   These friends have homes where dinner parties take place on the floor with a plate in hand, rather than on a dining room table.    When I ask them this question, the answer is always the same.   “Are you happy?”  

“Yes,” they reply. “Yes, I am happy.”

Today, I no longer work in corporate America, I don’t have health insurance (yet), I lost the dog in the divorce, and I am selling my house, because I cannot afford the mortgage.  This sounds bad, right?  But, one year ago, if you asked me if I was happy, I would have given you a long explanation to a short question.  

Today… my answer would be a very simple “yes.”  

Now, cue dramatic music…

The state of our world is in crisis on almost every measurable scale.  We are running out of oil, minerals, usable farmland, and even water.   We have 7 billion people on our planet and that number will double in my lifetime.   We are in the middle of a mass species extinction, which has been noted by biologists on every continent.   We are losing an average of 137 species every single day.   Over 50% of our existing plant life and the source for 90% of our medicines in existence today will be gone before I die.  Our food supply is made of less “food” than filler (check those labels on the back of the product).  We are quite literally poisoning our air, land, and sea – and our bodies.   

Sorry for the sour turn there, but an acknowledgement of ‘what is’ and acceptance of truth is the first step of any transformational process that has ever been – whether it’s the 12 step program or yoga or psychotherapy.  

Our Mother Earth is not well.   She is pretty darn sick.   And, the dis-ease that she is feeling is felt through everything and every person.   Our economy is failing.  Surveys of Happiness show that we are more unhappy as a country than we have ever been - EVER.   This is not coincidence.  Everything is connected.  This truth has been known and written in all the ancient Spiritual texts.   Our best science – that of quantum physics – has proven this many times over.   Everything is connected. 

What does this mean? For me, it means looking at “my truth,” acknowledging it, and doing something about it.  

The question is this:  “Is this a world that I want to live in?  Is this a world I want my daughter to inherit?”

The answer for me: “No.”  

The next question then is “What do I want to do about it?”

In my past, I would have suggested sweeping changes to legislation.  I would have railed on the corruption of government.  I would have slapped the water bottle out of your hand and educated you on the commoditization of water and the waste of resources required to make that single bottle of water.  

As Einstein said, though, we cannot change any problem with the same thinking that created it.   And, fighting fire with fire only makes a bigger fire. 

As Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars --must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”

The world does not need more activism.   The world needs more love.   It needs peace.   It needs teachers to demonstrate a new way to live through a new vibration.  

The best of our science has proven that we are all connected.   Every thought and every belief we hold creates a frequency that we broadcast like a radio station.  The only way that we will change the music is to change ourselves.   

After leaving corporate America, I immersed myself in myself.  I took a sabbatical from life and absorbed myself in the readings of the Ancient truths found in the sacred doctrines – that you, too, may find in your spiritual book of choosing.   I began a daily practice of yoga and started to observe my own thoughts.   I began to meditate.  I began to write again.  I began to feel again.    

For me, I realize that what we are doing as a society is not working.  And, if I choose to get up, go to work, and help produce more sofas, I do not change anything.   I may live in a better house or drive a nicer car, but at what expense?  My daughter will be the one to inherit a very sick world and perhaps worse, an unhappy dad. 

Happiness exists inside of us.   It is felt when we come into alignment with ourselves.  And, when I am unhappy, I impact not just myself, but you too.  

I can no longer pretend to be someone that I am not in the name of having “things” that I don’t really care to have.   For me, this is my truth.   This is my heart song.   Today, my vibration has changed.  

This time period is critical.   We are at a tipping point.   What you can do now is to live your purpose.   Live your truth.   Give love.   Live from your heart.   Be authentic.   Be honest.   Move toward your vibration.   Dance to your rhythm rather than the expectations of others.  

When you open yourself to yourself, you open to your inner Divinity, and God will flow into you and pave the way.   Grace will come swiftly and free you from guilt, resent, regret…  You will stand confident in your truth and in the warmth of self-love.   This will enable you to see with different eyes and the world will literally change right in front of you. 

Be the change you want to see.   Change the world, by changing yourself.  

SO… As my mom would say:  Get to work!  

Namaste,
Ryan

Dr. Ryan Pride is the owner of the Moksha Institute, a firm dedicated to improving the wellbeing of individuals, teams, and organizations through culture transformation and leadership development.   A profit-for-purpose company, the Moksha Institute applies Ancient Teachings for the Modern Time in order to transform striving into thriving.  

For more information, please go to: www.mokshainstitute.com