About 18 paragraphs, less than four minutes.
As you probably already know, the focus I have is in supporting people who want to use their business to make a difference in the world. To make things better. If you're reading this, chances are you've seen something about the world that leaves you dissatisfied, longing for something better, more true, more real, more nourishing.
This longing is, at its core, a source of your passion to act. Of course we want to see a more beautiful world, a more loving and just society. People living healthy, happy and fulfilled. When I see the pain and suffering in the world, for instance the many homeless people in Portland, my heart cries.
If we have the longing, and passion, for something better, then why is it so hard to fix things? What is between us and a healthy, sustainable world? Or even just a healthier and more profitable business?
It has to do with the spiritual secret behind 'passion.'
The Sufis teach that the physical creation came into being because God (the Divine, Source, Universal Oneness, whatever you call The Big He/She/It) had 'a desire to be known.' Before all this existed, says the teaching, there wasn't anything but undifferentiated Oneness. And, without an outside perspective, without an 'other' how can you see yourself?
The creation is a mirror of the Divine. And the word 'himma' is the Sufi term that refers to this yearning to be known that birthed the creation.
Often, when we are seeking to make something better it involves two steps: first, we judge and reject what is broken (This law is wrong! This marketing effort is miserable!), and second, the effort to replace the broken with something else (This law is finally the right one! This marketing will do the trick.)
The results of this approach? Dismal failure. Why?
Take a moment right now and think of something that looks broken to you- about your business, about the world, about your life. Notice how you feel- Angry? Upset? Agitated? Impatient? I'm guessing it's one of these natural reactions to brokenness.
Don't spend too long with it- it feels too yucko.
Okay, let's contrast it. Take a moment and feel your yearning- yearning for love, yearning for success, yearning for happiness. It's okay, give yourself 10 or 20 seconds to really feel the yearning, longing, desire for love.
Good. You can stop now. No really. Oh, it feels that good, does it?
Final step: in the afterglow of the yearning, look at the 'broken' thing. Did your attitude change? Do you feel differently? Is there any action you are inspired to take?
Here's the difference: The yearning encompasses what's painful, and adds love and expansion to it. The 'fixing' wants to play the shell game, and toss out what exists, and replace it with something else.
Are you trying to 'fix something that's broken?' Or, are you yearning to 'know, see and experience the larger truth?'
Sounds good, but does it work in the everyday world, where you're trying to pay your mortgage and keep food on the table?
Read practical steps below in Keys to Fixing Your Passion.
Keys to Fixing Your Passion
• You need a minimum in your tank.
Because it's so easy to fixate on trying to fix what's broken, it's also easy to run yourself ragged and empty. Unfortunately when you're ragged and empty, EVERYTHING looks even more broken.
If you are truly depleted, you are going to need to rest and nourish yourself before you can have any hope of connecting with your passion and yearning. For me, despite a long list of deadlines, I just spent several hours in the sun, and enjoyed some delicious gelato, and I can feel my tank beginning to refill.
• Enjoy the yearning.
It's a key distinction that the teaching talks about 'yearning' and not about 'fulfillment.' We are constantly searching for fulfillment, and overlooking the absolute gem that the yearning is.
The trouble with yearning is that our impatient human nature wants to get full already, so it attaches to material goals, which then gets us stuck in the 'broken/fix-it' loop again. Instead, allow yourself to savor the heart's yearning, and appreciate the locomotion it provides. Here's a question: How do you know when you have yearning? What does it feel like in your heart and body?
• Results come from action.
Things can, and do, change for the better, and the sweat of our brow is necessary in the equation. When you are full of yearning, what inspired action do you find in your heart? What if you were to trust and follow it, even if it made no sense? Even if it was just a baby step and you couldn't imagine what larger picture it was part of?
Can you take that step?
Liked the article? Hated it? Questions? Drop me a line.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver