Expert in the Rough, Brian Monahan

Last night I was playing with my daughter Ella.  Ella joined the world in October 2008 and she is pure joy.

Ella loves to dance and play peek-a-boo.  Ella’s favorite game is playing chase.  I get on the floor and crawl around chasing her around the house.  She gets so excited she is beside herself her legs shake and she screams at the top of her lungs.  When I finally catch her she turns around and gives me a great big kiss.

I have been on a journey to find more joy in my life.  This game of chase got me thinking, and that is the problem.

I am always thinking instead of enjoying the moment fully.  Even though I am chasing Ella and she is completely in the moment I am holding back.  I am not letting myself fully engage in the moment and be ecstatic with joy.  I am having fun but I am not all in like Ella.

If I look a little deeper I realize;  “I can never expect to find true joy in life if I can’t fully let go and experience true joy with my daughter.”  Ella is a pure bundle of joy.  I have not experienced the essence of fun and joy in years.  I have engaged in fun experiences but I have not let my guard down fully.

I see how this plays out in my other relationships.  If I don’t let my guards down I can never truly experience other peoples essence.  It is a tiny shift.  It is about letting my essence out.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

Have an Ecstatic Weekend!

Sometimes I find myself jealous of those who have chosen the path of bliss.  Those people who live unaware and uninspired.

Why is it important for me to be successful?  Couldn’t I have more fun boating and drinking?  How about a 9 to 5 job with no chance of promotion?

Sometimes I wonder if chasing success and getting it is really just a booby prize.  Maybe a life of unawareness might be more enjoyable.  Take what I am given.  Want not.

Awareness is often promoted as a positive thing in personal development circles but happens to be the “consequence” for Adam and Eve for taking a bite of the forbidden fruit.  In the Old Testament they refer to this forbidden fruit as the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”  Sounds like a big deal to me.

So what is the answer?  Ignorant or Aware?  Aware sounds so much nicer than ignorant!

From the Book of “Expert in The Rough.”

Here is my stab at this “New Age Old Dilemma.”

I believe it is all about balance, learning and unlearning.

We are all ignorant and skewed in our perspectives.  We don’t know what we don’t know and what we do know is not always true for everyone.

I have met some ignorant people who are blissful and I have met some ignorant people who are miserable.  Of those who are miserable their ignorance comes with consequences.  They often are given what life has left over or “universal leftovers” to steal a term from my Dad.

I also have met some aware people who are miserable and I have met some aware people who are blissful.  Of those who are blissful they have used their awareness to create a better life.  Often this bliss comes from an unlearning so to speak or a chosen ignorance.

Then there are the miserably aware folks.  They dissect every aspect of their life and never find peace.  Nothing is good enough and more and better is a life long “Gap” to being happy and blissful.  If your goals are always more and bigger how can you ever find peace and be still because your desire for more will keep you in perpetual motion.

What camp do you belong to?

Gotcha! If you even take the time to answer that question you are a member of the aware.  I am not sure what that means but at least you are not ignorant, right?

Sorry to waste your time.  This blog post was like an episode of 48 hours (60 minutes and no new information).  No answers here, I am just exploring whether ignorance is an alternative to awareness.