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January-April, 2024

Whack a Mole

by Rev. Ashley Rose Legrand, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

This is the song that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friends.

We are never truly satisfied whenever we achieve something in the world of form. We get what we think we want and after momentary relief, there’s now something else glistening out there, just off in the distance, enticing us and calling our name. A new shiny object luring us in with the promise of total fulfillment. Voila.. the ego scavenger hunt.

“When you have achieved it, it has not satisfied you. This is why the ego is forced to shift ceaselessly from one goal to another, so that you will continue to hope it can yet offer you something.” (T-8.VIII.2:6-7)

We set goals. Excited and filled with hope, that THIS time… THIS will do it. It will really bring the happiness, the peace. This one is going to be the cherry on top. The icing on the cake. The silver bullet. The goal to end all goals. Hallelujah! Then I can finally rest. Finally be at peace, with nothing to bother me. Nothing to infringe on my serenity. I can be safe now that nothing will disrupt me. Whew. What a relief. Cause I’m tired. Tired of being out here, trying relentlessly to keep myself safe. If this burned calories I’d be at my ideal body in no time.

Another ego smoke screen

Goals are okay. Achieving is wonderful. But in my experience, there IS a caveat. Going into those goals knowing that yes, it might make me temporarily feel good but it is not going to bring lasting peace. Lasting joy. Now some may be upset about that statement. (Some also meaning me. Raising my hand here). Part of me feels that’s very unfortunate and just so not fair. But at the same time, it’s also quite liberating, when seen from another perspective.

When we set out on the way to those goals, we can “let all things be exactly as they are,” (W-268) and allow God to take care of the how, when and where. We can let Him lead us. Instead of looking for complete and total fulfillment, thinking we’re finally going to learn the recipe for the eradication of fear, we can simply lean into enjoying the process.

Going into it with this frame of mind, we can live from a more relaxed place, an unhurried and less frantic state. We can live from a state of just wanting to experience joy in the doing and the discovery where we’re excited about the unknown gifts we might receive that come solely from the journey itself.

Experiencing this alternate path comes from another goal entirely from having ONE unified goal at the outset — the goal of maintaining a connection to Source. Without this essential piece, everything else is even more disappointing.

When we have this perspective, those temporary achievements become even more fun. We can let them off the hook for being responsible for so much of our happiness. Instead of racing to the finish line to get to that elusive and much sought after prize of lasting inner peace, we can let them be and actually experience them.

We can wait with relaxed expectancy, knowing more joy and achievement are most certainly on the way as we allow God to lead and tell us how to get there. And no matter what the outcome, we can find happiness in knowing He goes there with us, every step of the way. And nothing can separate us from Him, Who is our happiness. God is my Source, “God is with me. I live and move in Him.” (W-222)

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