Here's the thing about living a life you'd rather not be living - or at
least here's the thing about living aspects (now and then)
of a life you'd rather not be living: without access to
transformation,
it's the natural condition of Life for just about everyone. It's the
condition of Life just about everyone wakes up into every morning. We
don't want to be the first to say it, but here it is: the world we wake
up into every morning, the world presented to us on the daily news
isn't all that alluring, isn't all that exciting, isn't all that
attractive, isn't even worth living. Not really.
Having a life which naturally occurs as worth living isn't
a matter of
luck
nor is it a matter of finding the right vocation nor is it a matter of
discovering there really is a silver lining after all. The "worth
living" component of Life is an entirely created way of being.
It doesn't come as a right. Nor does it come as a gift.
It doesn't just happen. It's literally made up, called up
on demand.
"Life is worth living" is a condition which is made up, which is
created at any time under all circumstances for no reason
- in many cases, with no evidence. It's alright not to
create it. You don't have to. Life has been going on for millennia for
billions and billions of people who haven't created it. In spite of
"Life is worth living" not being created for millennia by billions and
billions of people, Life keeps on turning out anyway. What I've noticed
is if I don't create "Life is worth living", Life provides its own
evidence that it's really not worth living. The
world, left to its own devices, never provides any evidence "Life isn't
worth living" isn't "the truth".
Creating Life as worth living for no reason, any time, under all
circumstances, is an
art form.
It's an
art form
for which we're all evenly gifted and evenly qualified. The power to
transform
the quality of Life under all circumstances isn't only available to
some people and not to others - like height to a basketball player or
weight to a sumo wrestler.
I'm tempted as I write this to speculate about what's possible for a
life which is newly worth living which wasn't worth living before. As
useful as this may be, it would detract from this particular
conversation which is a (if not the) critical
conversation in the
Conversations For
Transformation
series. This particular conversation doesn't underscore what's possible
for a life which is newly worth living which wasn't worth living
before. This particular conversation underscores the power to
transform
Life, is always present for every human being evenly at
every moment under all circumstances like a possibility.
That's a great place to start any
conversation for
transformation:
realized or not, you have the power to
transform
the quality of your life. It's the
coin of the realm.
If we come at it from what's possible for a life
transformed,
we're on shaky ground unless we're standing on the bedrock foundation,
which is: you and I have the power to
transform
the quality of our lives under all circumstances. I assert if this
isn't in place first, then the best I can offer with
regard to what's possible for a life
transformed
is motivation and encouragement, neither of which
are of much use as
Conversations For
Transformation
anyway. And if we're not standing on the bedrock foundation, which is
you and I have the power to
transform
the quality of our lives under all circumstances, then the validity of
transformation
itself is called into question.
Once I'm clear about the power I have to
transform
the quality of my life, then the critical choice in the
matter
shows up:
will I exercise this power ... or not? And what's
fascinating to notice is this: once I'm aware of my power to
transform
the quality of my life, then even if I choose not to
exercise it, there's a certain ownership in choosing not
to exercise it. There's a certain responsibility in
knowing I have this power, yet choosing not to exercise it. There's
certainly more ownership and responsibility in knowing I have this
power yet choosing not to exercise it, than in not knowing I have it at
all.
That's interesting. If choosing
transformation
can be described as the genesis of taking ownership and
responsibility, then what can be said about not choosing
transformation,
the very act of which also includes taking ownership and
responsibility?
It seems to me this is evident in
Werner's
observation
that the power to
transform
the quality of Life is available under all
circumstances. It's available whenever it's chosen. If it's not chosen
it's available anyway. It's never the circumstances which are devoid of
the possibility of
transformation.
All circumstances are ever devoid of is someone choosing
transformation.
Transformation
is always available like a possibility. All there is to do
is choose it.