THE BIG LIE
(c) Steve Pilkington

We in the west are taught from very early in life that fulfillment and

happiness comes from personal achievement. As early as grade school we are

taught to compete for gold stars and grades and only the strongest survive.

Then upon completion of the formal education process we are thrust into a

capitalistic system that continues to reward only achievement.

And yet, even when we manage to climb the "corporate ladder" we discover

that money and external power do not give peace of mind and happiness. Why?

Because the things we value most, in the western world are external,

outside of ourselves. Capitalism which thrives on competition and getting

more and more has left in its wake an unprecedented high divorce rate,

alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness and other terrible maladies. We,

in the west, have never learned the value of cooperation over competition.

There is a small Asian country, Butan, where the people live very simple

lives in peace and harmony. Do you know what the number one goal of

government in Butan is? The number one goal is the gross national happiness

of the people! They live and work together in a spirit of harmony and

cooperation.

We, in the west, especially the U.S. look to our politicians to solve our

problems. Unfortunately, I've never known a politician who has ever had one

single original thought. They are too busy taking polls in an effort to

tell us what they think we want to hear. We elect them and they vote for

themselves all kinds of perks and pay raises and pension funds while

ignoring the very constituents who elected them. Politicians are the

problem the U.S.!

I think we could learn a lot from our eastern neighbors about happiness,

harmony and fulfillment. There are the seeds of greatness within every

human being and I believe our eastern friends could teach us much about

nurturing those seeds to fruition. The answers we seek are already within us.

How do we begin to tap into the wealth of wisdom within? I believe the

purpose of every human has its roots in love. Try the following exercise.

Every morning when I go out to greet the world, I do so with no

expectations from anyone. Nobody owes me anything.

Give of yourself without expectation of getting anything in return.

Try to come to the place in your life where you have nothing to give but love.

In the morning when you go out to greet the day say to yourself: "Just for

today I expect nothing from anyone and I will give away only love, and I

will find places to be of service with no expectation of recognition or reward.

You can never amass enough material possessions to satisfy that empty spot

in your soul. You can drown your sorrows in alcohol or drugs. You can spend

lots of money and time in therapy or you can choose to fill up that empty

space with love.

Give of yourself and you will be amazed at the number of ways it will come

back to you, but you must give without expectation of return, reward or

recognition.

The big lie is that if we just have enough money, houses and fine cars we

will be happy. Happiness is never found in the external. True happiness is

found when we learn to give without expectation; as we learn to serve our

fellow humans just for the sheer joy of serving.

Let me challenge you to go out and find a human need and fill it. When you

do I guarantee it will feel as if someone turned on a warm shower in your

heart.