What You Seek is Inside

Have you ever wondered why different people dream of different things? I mean, why do some people dream of wealth while others -- who may not be wealthy in the financial sense -- dream of something totally different? Or why do some people yearn for that ideal life partner, while others really don't care that much about idealistic romantic love at all?

Is it because we're all so fundamentally different that we yearn for different things?

Well, that's possible, sure. And that's probably what most of us believe: we're all different, we all have different paths in life, different perspectives and levels of awareness, and all of these differences influence our personal dreams.

But...look deeper into this. Though it's unarguable that, on the surface, many of us want "different things" -- the person who dreams of money is, without question, desiring something different than the person who dreams of a fulfilling relationship, but to simply stop our observation at this level is somewhat short-sighted. Yes, the objects of desire are indeed different, but the ultimately goal is amazingly similar. It's more than amazing; it's staggering.

You see, at the deepest level of our being -- prior to our beliefs, our thoughts, our interpretations, our logic, our language -- we all want the same thing. What differs, quite dramatically in some cases, is how we think we can achieve it.

What we all want, in the deepest core of our being, is to simply be. We can call it "peace" if we want, but even that term may not be that helpful, since in so many ways "peace" is seen as a commodity; something that is to be achieved in the future, or protected, or fought for, or whatever. It's hardly viewed as a state of being; it's really more of a political word than a mystical one, and has been for quite a while.

But, really, if you truly go inside yourself and see, what you really want is to feel whole; to feel integrated. To feel at peace with yourself; to feel alignment. And to achieve that wholeness, that integration, that peace, you think that there is one "optimal way" -- which is through money, or relationships, or something else.

In other words: you want to go from point A to point B, and you think the only way to do it is through [enter desire here]. You're convinced -- self-hypnotized, perhaps -- that your desire is the only way to get there.

The problem is...

You often get what you wanted, but you don't achieve the integration, the wholeness, the PEACE that you wanted. And when that happens, it's ridiculously easy to find many reasons for it: something hasn't fallen into place, things didn't work out the way that they "should," other people are being needlessly difficult, luck is bad, or whatever.

The root, core misunderstanding is simply that you thought you needed something that you didn't need -- and so when you get it, even if you get more than you wanted, you never actually needed it in the first place. You needed integration, wholeness, peace. THAT'S what you want; you just think that there's only one "optimal" way to get there.

Experience will tell you -- if you pay attention -- that your being is much more energized by present moment attention than it ever will be to future-oriented desire. That's why little children are so remarkably happy -- they haven't learned about future yet. They haven't lost track of the present moment; they live in the now.

By all means, desire wealth if you wish, or a fulfilling relationship. Why not? But don't ask of them things that they cannot give to you.

Find your peace now, in the now. That's where it is.

And then, build from there.