TRUE PROSPERITY?
To prosper is to be successful, to thrive and to flourish. Many of us feel to prosper is to be financially comfortable, to be happy in one's personal and professional life, to have friends who are supportive, to have good health and good times. These are the things humans crave. For many of us, prosperity is touch and go. We have a job we love for a few years, earning a good salary, then the company we're working for folds. We're surrounded by good friends who we love, then situations arise, relationships change, and suddenly our social circle is dwindling. We have an unexpected health problem, and it is hard to believe there was ever a time we felt good with practically no effort.
If we look back over our lives, we have all experienced these ups and downs. It is part of living, part of the journey. If life were too easy, it would be difficult for us to evolve and learn. Realising and coming to terms with this is true prosperity. Being happy and content with life,
regardless of what is going on externally, is the ultimate goal. Being happy
even when money
is tight, or relationships are falling apart, is true balance.
True prosperity is feeling content and happy within ourselves, regardless of outside circumstances. This is a simple concept, yet can be very difficult to practice. How can one achieve the goal of happiness against all odds! I believe a high level of self esteem is important. Believing in ourselves, our purpose, and our ability to overcome adversity; these are qualities we find in those with high self-esteem.
Life is a series of peaks and valleys. And part of maintaining self-esteem is not beating ourselves up or blaming ourselves (or others) when things don't go our way. The ability to remain content despite circumstances is true prosperity. Life is short, and should not be wasted with too many unnecessary, unhappy moments.
Self-esteem also comes with balance. Balance is a broad term; in this context I mean physical, emotional, and energetic balance.
Physical balance is achieved through exercise, health maintenance, a healthy, whole-foods- based diet, and good sleep. It comes with not working too hard at the expense of our family or our health, and making time in our schedule to take care of ourselves. We only get one
body and we
need
to make it last.
Emotional balance is a little tougher. It comes with experience, trial and error, and learning to be present when we are experiencing emotions. We must try to be conscious
of
where our emotions are truly coming from. We must also learn to let go of the past. Dwelling on old emotions and situations causes regret. Regret is the most wasteful activity; we cannot re-live the past and learning to let it be is part
of
emotional balance. It is necessary to feel and honour emotions, but we cannot let them rule our life and moods.
Energetic balance is a combination of physical and emotional balance, with healthy dose
of
wellness thrown
in.
True Prosperity is not about money. It is our happiness.