Spiritual beings follow certain tenets and practice living their daily lives in a more celestial fashion.
Most people identify themselves only by their physical self, their accomplishments, social and economic status, and possessions, but we are FAR more than that! Our everlasting TRUE self or internal self does not need anything outside itself to be complete. Physical death is inevitable, and when it happens, you leave your natural body, and nothing of an impermanent material nature accompanies you. One should never base their happiness or self-worth on the acquirement or attainment of the impermanent things of this world if they want to find peace and contentment. Attaching to a temporal, transient, refined worldly existence will only cause suffering.
DETACHING from the things of this world doesn’t mean that you should not apply yourself and achieve the very best you can with all the talents you have been gifted with. Making money, enjoying the amenities of life, and achieving your goals should be a byproduct of hard work, persistence, passion, and dedication, certainly not your main focus when looking to attain happiness. The role you play in this life, your possessions, and your accomplishments should never DEFINE you!
If chasing money is your main focus you will likely be thoroughly disappointed. Often times people will think or proclaim, “I’ll be happy when I’m making such and such amount of money”, but that time never seems to come. This type of thinking exemplifies the fact that one’s happiness does not come from within, but from what they acquire externally, through material amenities. Once you reach the amount you stated would make you happy, most often that amount isn’t good enough anymore. Then you want a nicer car, a bigger house, a better partner, more jewelry, keep up with the Jones’s and so forth. With that mindset, you will NEVER be satisfied. You will continue to suffer as a result of your uncontrollable desire to attain more. The law of diminishing returns proves that the more money, power, sex, or anything else external that you acquire, the less desirable it will become!
True happiness can never be dependent on the impermanent material things of this world. True happiness can only be cultivated from the INSIDE out.
Deepak Chopra, M.D, the author of more than 80 books translated in over 43 languages, including 22 New York Times bestsellers, made this powerfully spot on statement, “we have to replace the word money with wealth.” He goes on to say, “wealth is the progressive realization of worthy goals, wealth is the ability to love and have compassion, wealth is good health, wealth is caring relationships, and wealth is getting in touch with the creative source inside you that is also the creative source of the whole universe, space, time, information, energy, matter. When we shift from money, to wealth, we will have found the Kingdom of Heaven which is within us.”
Remember, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience,” –French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.