Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Best Is Yet to Come

I turned on my computer this morning and opened up the web browser to Yahoo, where the glaring morning headline was "Worst is yet to come". The brief article was about how our unraveling economy would mean changes in our lifestyles and difficulty for years to come. The article touched on the gloom and doom that we have come to hear regularly almost everywhere we turn; however, it did note that "the end of rampant consumerism is ultimately a good thing."

It can be difficult and often scary for us in these times of seeming uncertainty. I say "seeming" because the uncertainty and shakiness has been there for a while in an economy that was false and built upon credit spending, but we could not see it then, or perhaps most people just didn't want to see it. The uncertainty is more about our perception than anything else, and as soon as we realize that and get real, things will become more certain. I recall several years ago hearing and reading about the serious problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but those warnings were ignored by our congress - those who are responsible for such oversight - the same people who now claim that they "inherited" these problems, as if they had no power or ability to do anything before the implosion! Many consumers try to sidestep the accountability in similar fashion, by denying that they had any say in the debt that they built up, even if it was for things well beyond their means or trinkets and luxuries that were not necessities.

We have been taught by our leaders and each other to simply point the finger when things go wrong, but in doing so, we miss the opportunity to look inward, grow, and correct or improve our ways. We miss the opportunity for something better that may be there for us. Sometimes difficulties are actually a message to us to change our ways, collectively or individually. In going within, we can reach the place of our souls, where we are real beyond our possessions, and come to find our true selves amidst the turmoil. Accountability is a tremendous growth tool, but we often find it so much easier to blame others or make excuses that we never truly get to the growth we need in order to learn what we came here to learn or be all that we came here to be.

Instead of looking at these times expecting that the "worst is yet to come," look at them as an opportunity to find what is truly important, to make our lives leaner and therefore, more real and genuine. It is a gift to us all, if we will take it to heart. In that light, you will come to understand that the "best is yet to come," if you will embrace it and allow it. Finding your true self and your true purpose will bring in the best of times and the best of you.

No comments: