If You Had No Obligations, What Would You Do?

A few days ago, a friend of mine who has been going through a bit of self-reflection recently, called me up and excitedly asked if she could read something to me, an essay she had written.  As she was reading it, I was so moved that I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes.  In a world where life is complex and we are constantly inundated with pressure to acquire material goods, it was powerful to read about a simpler kind of life.  I can relate to much of what is written in this essay because of the friendship I have with the author and the endless conversations we have had that have helped me view the recent changes in my own life as a positive step towards my own simpler way of life.  However, I also believe that others who read this will find something in this essay that they too can relate to, even if they don’t know the author.  My dear friend who wrote this has overcome obstacles, been through hardship, heartbreak, and faced challenges in life greater than many of us could ever imagine.  I am so proud of her for her growth as an individual and her enthusiasm, looking ahead toward her future. Today, I would like to share this essay with my blog readers.  Thank you Alicia for allowing me to share this on my blog.  I believe what is written below speaks for itself.

Life without Obligation

Written by Alicia Stiles

If life was as simple of as waking up each morning and saying to my-self “what would I like to do today?” without the obligation of our society’s idea of everyday life, I honestly believe I would change the world. I am not your typical student, with the goals of the average person, to get a degree in order to move up in the corporate ladder, save money for retirement, go off to some tropical paradise and wait for my body to deteriorate, and simply die, leaving my belongings behind to my children. I have a vision of a different world, a shift in consciousness of the human race. If I had the assets available to me, like money, time, and travel (or the ability to easily relocate myself) I would help to take so many people out of the heartache they spend their every moment in. Life is not about who has the biggest house, the nicest car, the best education, or fighting each other (to the death) to prove which political party stands for “what’s right!” Life is about togetherness. Socialism if you will but not socialism among one country, socialism among all the nations. With this being true, if I had no obligations in my own life I would be able to teach my thoughts to many other people allowing them to feel the spiritual freedom that I feel. With that being said, I honestly do not believe it is possible to be the person I want to be and create the change I would like to see in the world if I do not go through the struggles of everyday life that each person must endure. If I do not have to undertake the battles of fighting for what I want in life I will never be able to equate myself to the feelings of the general public that I hope to someday help to see their own reality in a different light.

There is a never ending darkness that plagues the people of generations that inhabit the earth currently. It is hunger, anger, defeat, power, helplessness, selfishness, the overall feeling of every man for himself. This is not the purpose to life and we will forever dwell in our own sorrows until we let go of the painful pleasures that have controlled and defeated our happiness for centuries.  The pain we feel as people comes from an absence of material or emotional feelings. Since the beginning of time, the majority of people in the world have set the principle of what we stand for, and what our goals are, or even what the purpose of life is. By centering our focus on wars, discrimination, materialism, allowing the weakest of mankind to suffer and go without, has allowed the majority of people to believe power and wealth are the purpose of life. Who has the ability to acquire the most possessions?  Who are the most attractive people with the ability to be with, what “group think” projects as the “most attractive” members of the opposite sex? These thoughts and feelings are what fuel the nations and allow for so much pain and torture in the hearts of many.

If I had the ability to spend each day dedicated to enriching my soul and growing my spiritual knowledge vs. the knowledge necessary to survive in our politically driven society I would be able to help so many people release themselves from the painful turmoil they feel from holding on to such integrated thoughts. In order to give my kids the life they deserve and the life that will allow them to be successful in the world at large, I must dedicate myself to standardize schooling and starting my own business that will generate revenue in order to ensure them a solid foundation of college and a chance at what we have all been taught is a “better life.”  If I had no children, I would not work to create a structure and foundation, in a, money driven, greedy community. I would live simply, choosing to educate myself with many different religions allowing my soul to strengthen and walk as a book of knowledge trying to release people from the manmade reality that consumes them. I had children at the very young age of 17 and 18 and only having been with the “one” boyfriend I had, a handful of times, I truly believe Katelyn and Noah have a purpose in life. Currently, I feel my purpose is to give them all the tools they will need to impact as many people as they come in contact with in their lives because three people have the capability to be so much more influential than one person. I believe life has played out this way because it forces me to connect with the commonality between humans. I do not think it is possible to connect with someone unless you understand them at an emotional level and have experienced the things they have gone through.

Through living life with my children and having to integrate into a culture I do not fundamentally agree with I have learned that I need to be able to connect with people on their own level or I will just come across as though I think I am “better than” the individual or group I would like to cultivate with better thoughts and ideas. I absolutely believe that this idea is vital to the success of helping a large portion of the world understand my point of view when I am able to finally share it. I do not think you can understand “happy” if you never feel “sad” or “hurt,” I believe you cannot really feel “love” until your heart is broken and you feel “the absence of love.” I think it is an adverse effect theory, if you do not understand the “negative,” or the bad feelings, your emotions have no competency to understand the corresponding, ”positive” or good feelings. I consider the same theory when I focus my energy on wanting to help humanity live for something better. If I do not understand their current purpose I will not be able to explain why it would be better any other way.

In conclusion, if I had no obligations in life, not a care in the world, I feel I would probably be a complete waste of space. I would take every moment for granted and live through complete greed and self-indulgence. Through hard work and perseverance, at some point in life, I will reach a place of great success which will allow me to take my focus off of the materiality that has controlled my life to this point. Until then I will continue to go through the motions of the positive and negative feelings and moment’s life brings my way. I will struggle financially and work as hard as I am able to, to create a foundation around me so that I may someday have the understanding and knowledge I need to impact many groups of people in many nations. Hopefully creating a shift in consciousness and opening the hearts of many people who will choose to give their life, the same way I choose to give mine. Ultimately creating the “Heaven on Earth” we as a human race long to embrace.