The state of just being.

Too often I pondered and wondered upon the profoundly audacious goals that most people set on the movements or organizations or meetups or communities or countries they are part of. It sometimes seems to me that the sole purpose of such goals is not the goal itself but instead the effect or the expected outcome of the goal and its impact on the people surrounding it.

To further expand, the goal of setting such goals is driven not by a deep inner need for change or growth but instead, driven by a deep inner desire to influence and be influenced by the aftermath of such goals thus elevating said goal-setter to a greater heights. Put another way, the goal is driven by a different more personally satisfying purpose.

We see this around us all the time. From the fearless leader in our company who gathers everyone on a semi monthly basis to further reiterate the same vision in an effort to motivate you to actually make that happen and elevate the leader by acknowledging that he or she was right all along. We see this in political or economic or social propaganda that is spewed through the actions and words from our elected officials in an attempt to ensure we ourselves justify its cause and reason and thus agree to follow the path set forth by them. We see this in our children and our parents, our friends and even our foes. Heck, we see it within ourselves and this is perhaps the most disturbing of all.

The Alternative

Instead of succumbing to the double-edged goal setting routine, perhaps its time we embraced a more self aware way to getting what we want. The alternative I propose instead is the State of Just Being.

In some circles this is known as lateral goals or lateral growth and in others, merely a way of life. It is not something to attain, it is not something we pursue. In fact, it is not something we hone our skills at either.

It is merely a state of just being.

Let me invite you to linger on that thought a little longer if you may. The state of just being. Too often we are moved and motivated by pursuits – I want to try everything, I want to buy all of that, I want to own the very best of this, I want to be the very best of that. Notice the common factor that binds all of those needs together, the wanting. Its what moves us to challenge the status quo, or move mountains, in the traditional frame of mind.

Instead, what if, to continue the context, there was no status quo or a moveable mountain. What if, there was just a state of mind, where instead of moving the mountain, we move ourselves. We dont merely accept, we just are. To put this in another way, what if we just acknowledge.

In this state, the only thing we subconsciously expand is consciousness itself. The state of knowing, the state of being. This is lateral growth. The simple permission we give our mind to just be itself, ourself. In this state, we are everything ever conceived and yet we are nothing. We approach everything as a beginner should and constantly just be.

This to me is what builds everything. When we move at this pace, too fast to see yet too still to move, we achieve all that we hope to achieve and see all that we need to see. After all, we are humans. We are driven primarily by our differences and this is what unites us together.

A New World

Imagine a world where we are just being. Propaganda would be a thing of the past and action by mere delivery would be the ruling factor. We will not be falsely moved by those prying of the psychology of emotions but instead we would be both influencing and be influenced by the world around us leaving a little of ourselves in everything we interact with. What a wonderful world that would be ?

A world where we are all beginners united by a common quest, understanding everything by understanding nothing, being everything by just being. Suddenly, we have new definitions for competitions and contests. We judge not but instead learn to accept more. We become ourselves and in the process everyone else becomes. This to me is the birth of a new world. A world without false and fault. A beginner’s world.