I love how you’ve written this like a novel you can’t put down, with the teaching tucked inside the story so gently you almost don’t notice it until it lands. The reflection and meditation at the end feel especially powerful for those of us in midlife who’ve wrapped so much of our identity around a role or a résumé—approaching retirement, or watching kids leave home, and suddenly realizing we don’t quite know who we are without that name tag. It’s such a compassionate invitation to sit with those questions before life forces the answers on us.
Thank you, Cindy, for your generous appreciation of the piece :). I am truly grateful you found value in it. Indeed, sometimes we are so thick into identity that it has become an inseparable part of us. But each identity we attach to ourselves becomes like a cloak masking our real self, the Truth within, who we really are. The purpose of these practices is awareness; not giving up on any identity, but playing our roles without forgetting ourselves, all the while remembering we are not the role, not the identity, something far more vast, and greater :) Thank you again, for your engagement :)
The comparison is deeply flattering and far more generous than I deserve. The luminous words of Ekhart Tolle have inspired me, healed me, and helped me tremendously in various facets of life. What an enlightened Master! :)
The line that stayed with me was, "Changing roles without changing consciousness is like painting over cracks without repairing the foundation." I think it's easy to believe a different job, title, or environment will automatically solve an inner tension. Sometimes we carry the same patterns with us until we learn to recognize them. I thought that was one of the strongest ideas in the piece.
Indeed, this line is one of the core messages of this piece. Wherever we go, we carry our inner world with us. A disturbed man will remain disturbed even if he escapes to a tranquil forest. And a peaceful man can access inner peace even during chaos. It is all about working on the inner world to break and shift these unconscious patterns we carry within.
I like how you put that. It's tempting to think that changing our surroundings will do the work for us, but the inner patterns have a way of following us until we actually face them. Thanks for expanding on that idea.
How true. It’s the inner patterns which need to be worked on. Just sitting with oneself, in quiet or meditation, is a great way to observe these inner patterns and allow them to be released.
Happy to support each other’s journey here. Subbed you :)
Thank you, Isha. I really appreciate that, and I'm glad we connected through your writing. I look forward to reading more of your work as well. Wishing you all the best on your journey.
Thank you, really enjoyed part 2 of the story, a very powerful piece. Such a profound reflection, would I still want to do this if nobody was watching. And thank you for the practices!
Thank you Melinda for your reply and kind feedback :)
Yes, I think in a world with so many external pressures and comparison, it’s very important to understand whether what we are doing is coming from the core of our being, our authentic self, or we are just caving in to pressures and demands from outside of us. Lasting success and contentment is found along the path which is meant for us, not decided by others:)
I resonate with your work and would love to follow your journey! Would be great to stay connected and support each other :) just subbed you
I love how you’ve written this like a novel you can’t put down, with the teaching tucked inside the story so gently you almost don’t notice it until it lands. The reflection and meditation at the end feel especially powerful for those of us in midlife who’ve wrapped so much of our identity around a role or a résumé—approaching retirement, or watching kids leave home, and suddenly realizing we don’t quite know who we are without that name tag. It’s such a compassionate invitation to sit with those questions before life forces the answers on us.
Thank you, Cindy, for your generous appreciation of the piece :). I am truly grateful you found value in it. Indeed, sometimes we are so thick into identity that it has become an inseparable part of us. But each identity we attach to ourselves becomes like a cloak masking our real self, the Truth within, who we really are. The purpose of these practices is awareness; not giving up on any identity, but playing our roles without forgetting ourselves, all the while remembering we are not the role, not the identity, something far more vast, and greater :) Thank you again, for your engagement :)
Absolutely agree with making room for what expands your spirit, this is such a great read, thank you for sharing!
Dear Joanna,
I am truly grateful that this piece spoke to you. Indeed, true joy, contentment and a sense of purpose come when we nourish our spirit:)
This was excellent. So many nuggets of wisdom in this post. Really enjoyed reading it.
Dear SA Foster,
I am grateful that you took the time to read. This is an ongoing conversation between a monk and a seeker, and many more chapters to come :)
Love this! Reminds me of books by Tolle Eckhart on ego 💯
Dear Astrid,
The comparison is deeply flattering and far more generous than I deserve. The luminous words of Ekhart Tolle have inspired me, healed me, and helped me tremendously in various facets of life. What an enlightened Master! :)
Brilliant!
Thank you so much :)
Beautiful writing....🙏🙏
Thank you 🙏. Glad the piece resonated with you :)
The line that stayed with me was, "Changing roles without changing consciousness is like painting over cracks without repairing the foundation." I think it's easy to believe a different job, title, or environment will automatically solve an inner tension. Sometimes we carry the same patterns with us until we learn to recognize them. I thought that was one of the strongest ideas in the piece.
Thank you for your kind comments, Patrick.
Indeed, this line is one of the core messages of this piece. Wherever we go, we carry our inner world with us. A disturbed man will remain disturbed even if he escapes to a tranquil forest. And a peaceful man can access inner peace even during chaos. It is all about working on the inner world to break and shift these unconscious patterns we carry within.
I like how you put that. It's tempting to think that changing our surroundings will do the work for us, but the inner patterns have a way of following us until we actually face them. Thanks for expanding on that idea.
How true. It’s the inner patterns which need to be worked on. Just sitting with oneself, in quiet or meditation, is a great way to observe these inner patterns and allow them to be released.
Happy to support each other’s journey here. Subbed you :)
Thank you, Isha. I really appreciate that, and I'm glad we connected through your writing. I look forward to reading more of your work as well. Wishing you all the best on your journey.
Thank you 🙂. Look forward to following your journey as well :)
Thank you, really enjoyed part 2 of the story, a very powerful piece. Such a profound reflection, would I still want to do this if nobody was watching. And thank you for the practices!
Thank you Melinda for your reply and kind feedback :)
Yes, I think in a world with so many external pressures and comparison, it’s very important to understand whether what we are doing is coming from the core of our being, our authentic self, or we are just caving in to pressures and demands from outside of us. Lasting success and contentment is found along the path which is meant for us, not decided by others:)
I resonate with your work and would love to follow your journey! Would be great to stay connected and support each other :) just subbed you