"If we did all the things we were capable of doing we would literally astonish ourselves."
Thomas Alva Edison
If you have been following this blog, you have a general overview of the gist of this journey that we have embarked on. We have covered what needs to be packed and what needs to be left behind. We even have a destination point - extraordinary. All of these are important considerations but they are secondary to the central question of WHY. Why is the most important question that we can ever ask ourselves. The answer lays bare our basic motivation and also provides the degree of passion that we have available to keep going.
"Why" grows out of the larger question of - What do we want? If we could have anything in the world, what would that be? The mind will kick out all sorts of responses to this question from the truly ridiculous to the sublime. It is the "why" that follows that question that serves as the ballast and makes sure that we have enough energy currency to go for it. Make no mistake, any undertaking no matter how large or small comes with a price. Answering our "why" allows us to go to our internal bank account and make sure that we are not frittering away our resources on a fool's folly that will satisfy for the moment but leaves us hungering for more in the long run.
"Why" comes from our hearts, not our minds. Interestingly, scientists have found that the heart has an intelligence all its own. Through its rhythmic beat, it ties us to the larger universe. "The wind and waves carry the same amount of force or 'energy' that the heart is throbbing with on any given day, so the music is the same."* In fact, our glorified brains and their development are "maintained by cytokines."* And you guessed it, these originate in our hearts.
If we want real knowledge and understanding that ties us into the larger cycles of life - wisdom if I may be so presumptuous - then we need to get out of that will-o-wisp of a brain and get down and dirty with our hearts. In this over intellectualized culture of ours, that means that we have to calm the constant chatter of our brains, quell our infatuation with our thoughts and pay attention to that quiet almost stifled voice that arises from within. It is that feeling that emanates from our heart and is verified by our gut. It is the much reviled intuition in this left-brain, scientifically based culture.
If that makes you a little squeamish, that is okay. I won't tell anyone that you are going with your gut. If you pay close attention to any decision that we make and that corporations make, you will find that most of the fact finding and research is done to verify what the emotional answer was anyways. So just dispense with all of the cover-ups and have a heart to heart with your heart. Start with what you think that you want. Ask your heart the "why" that would be a good thing for you and see if you have a match.
"Whats" and "whys" that are heart fueled are passion propelled. They put us in the universal flow. It is like a surfer paddling out and catching the perfect wave and finding him/herself perfectly positioned in the curl of that wave and riding it all the way into shore. It is effortless and requires only being there. The exhileration of that ride creates more energy for the next and the next. Being aligned with our "why" rather than sucking us dry, energizes us. It is the fuel that we can run on indefinitely; because like the constancy of the waves, it is renewable. It is the reason that time will stand still and life will be once again be a joy and not a drudge.
And like the Edison quote says, we will astonish ourselves with what we can do. His passion to find a lightbulb that worked fueled him through 5,000 failures before he found one that worked. The downside is that it also cost him his family and most of his eyesight. Only he could say if it was worth it to him. The point is only a powerful "why" could have kept him at the task in the face of such adversity.
My "why" is the reason that this blog is called "Serving Lemonade/Lemonaid" and not just making lemonade. What good is a pitcher of lemonade if no one drinks it? I get my kicks from sharing the lessons I have learned from my life's lemons. It keeps me going looking for more clues along my life's path so I can find more ways of making and serving lemonade/lemonaid. And my dirty secret is that while I am delighted to serve you lemonade, I would do so even if no one ever read my blog because it brings me joy.
That is what I wish for each of you. Just a three letter word - why - but it spells the difference between renewable joy or blood sucking duty. And it has been there all the time in our hearts. Who knew?
*Lights Out, Sleep, Sugar, and Survival, T. S. Wiley with Bent Formby, Ph.D.
