THE DESIRE FOR MORE VS. GRATITUDE
NEVER ENOUGH OR MORE THAN "GOOD ENOUGH"?
Being worked on. Contact me to have me prioritize its completion.
Greed: An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves.
When is a desire excessive?
When it leads to a negative effect on happiness.
_____________________________________________________
"The truth is that we live in BonusLand and are no longer living in "The Land Of Not Enough". It is imperative that we realize and fully acknowledge that, for it will massively change the way we live our lives and the happiness that we will have in our lives."
The BuddhaKahuna
See why, below.
______________________________________________________
NEVER "ENOUGH" OF "MORE"
The Buddha identifies the source of suffering as "wanting more". We suffer from always wanting more. We get what we want and then that is "not enough", so we want more...and then more...and then more... and onward, living in perpetual, unthinking "not enough". (As important as learning to be happy, one should learn how to avoid the opposite: Suffering And Struggle - The Imaginary And Unnecessary Pain And Battles.)
The "happy people" on earth, who suffer little, instead, have a conversation of "this is good enough", "life is good", and "wow, isn't life full of great stuff" and then onward to "life is a miracle" But ironically they live in South America, often in poverty. But they have enough. Enough to eat. Enough people to be around them to contribute to their lives. An acceptance (not a resignation or a "tolerance") that part of life is about working in order to get something to eat and a place of shelter and some comfort.
In contrast, the people who live in the advanced countries are suffering from increasing depression and an overabundance of goods, but a poverty of thought where they believe they are short of things.
IMAGINARY SHORTAGES...
But this article is not about things per se, but about the "mental constructs" that we make up in our head such that we create imaginary "shortages" and a poverty of what we want. After all, in the real, physical world, we have no shortages of basic goods and shelter, but we "feel" otherwise.
What is wrong with that picture? It sure looks to be ludicrously out of touch with reality.
The reality is that we live in BonusLand, where we have more, by far, than we need to be basically happy, but we don't "see" it.
I try to get at that elsewhere on the site, but I think that somehow I have not made it explicitly, directly clear.
I talk of "What I Have, For Sure", so a person can "see" what is in one's world and life. I call it "seeing what's there" instead of just seeing "what's missing". Yes, it smacks of the old "a glass is either half full or half empty" - but that quote does not capture the depth of thinking that makes the difference. Read further to "see" the difference.
THE TRUTH
And, once you think it through and "see it" and "get it", you realize the truth of how we all have more than enough, that we are in BonusLand, and could be as happy as a pig in slop, feeling great, living a life that is a miracle in itself, with miracle capabilities (not superman standards, though!!).
We are "exalted" (elevated) above all other species, with a quantum leap of greater capabilities, including the greatest computer in the universe. Yet many of us want to be exalted further, all the way, for some, to the level of being with and like God. Now, consider that God might have been at this a little longer than you and that you might actually have to take a while to do "eternal progression". The idea that we are eternally progressing might them apply to everyone, even God, which then might imply that He took a long time and that maybe his spouse is nagging him still because he is taking so long to arrive at the final (unreachable) destination.
THE CONVERSATION OF MORE "CREEPS IN"...
The "other discussion" (greed, more) can always creep in, as is true of all patterns of thought grooved into the brain. Lennie (our primitive brain) is always looking for another way to do what it "thinks" will preserve the basics of life. So you'll occasionally need to reinforce the "I'm in BonusLand" conversation. But remember that all physical pathways, even neuronal ones, eventually fade away from non-use, which means that the "more" and "not enough" conversations will dwindle to nothingness.
Now imagine your life if you were free of the "not enough" conversation and living in the "BonusLand" conversation!
WHAT TO DO NOW
Hopefully you will have "gotten" the basic truth here, so that now you will want to attain the benefits that can be gained.
Many of the "pieces" that contribute to seeing and being able to live in BonusLand are contained in what is called The Reminders Notebook. Though they might not be seen as part of "the path", they are - they are "paving stones" for the road to believing in what is true and beneficial. In that notebook, we fill in the necessary material (often copying much on the site and then modifying it to fit our unique ways of thinking) that fits behind the tabs (dividers that can be written on and put in the order of the table of contents provided).
Fill in the key tabs as soon as you can, such as is suggested in Filling In Your Reminders Notebook Sections - Try This Order, With These Instructions, such as "gratitude", the "positives portfolio", and "my daily grounding summary" (which helps solidify the overall view points). You will also fill in, if you look at the table of contents for the reminders notebook, "my power life statement", "peace" (based largely on knowing one is in BonusLand), "my values" (which can be seen to be directly attainable and not based on "not enough"), "my commitments in life", "who I am" (as a "generator", not a "generated upon"), "how I shall live my life", and other foundation solidifying pieces you can pick out from the table of contents.
[As the "proactive learner", as in Effective Learning, you would survey the above pieces in order to get the overview and an idea of what the worth is of doing each of the pieces of the reminders notebook and of the paths. While one can get right to the pieces in the Reminders Notebook and gain benefits that rapidly accumulate, one must commit to sufficient hours to complete the journey to having the greatest life - a number of hours will be required but the results will be priceless!!!!]
