Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich,
and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.
Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.
Do you remember the magicians who used to spin plates atop poles on stage at the circus?
The trick was to get as many of the plates spinning at the same time without letting any
of them drop. This required constant attention to each plate, giving it just enough
momentum every few seconds to keep it spinning, and then rushing to do the same
with another plate so that it doesn't fall off the pole. This depicts how most of us live
our lives, with multitasking condoned in the workplace and perpetuated in society
as an asset, while it's actually a disease that we're suffering from in epidemic proportions.
Like we're addicted to being busy or something. As a direct by-product of a bigger,
better, faster, more, mentality, we take a simple life and we complicate it to no end.
Our wants become needs, and before we know it, we believe we can't live without something
that we didn't even know existed a year ago. We are spoiled rotten, over-stimulated,
and rightfully exhausted, but it's our own fault. Some of the plates we try spinning
don't even make sense with everything else we've got going on. So we essentially
guarantee that one or more of them will inevitably drop. And we've been doing this
for so long that we don't know any other way to be. The dream, perhaps for all of us, is
to lead a simple and uncomplicated life. And even though it's difficult to imagine a way out
of our current situations if we feel stuck, there are always options. The trick is to
figure out what is standing in our way of deciding to get out, and that "something"
is almost always our own fears and insecurities. Having faith is embracing
the unknown, taking a step forward even when you're not sure where it will lead.
Not because you're a daredevil, but because scary as that step might be, it's not nearly
as scary as staying stuck. We more frequently regret steps that we haven't taken in life
than the steps that we have. Besides, how can we grow if we don't have faith that all of our
past experiences were not mistakes, but actually necessary steps to equip us with
the strength needed to make it through what's ahead? Whatever we want more
will inevitably be what motivates us. When in doubt, look at your actions and you'll see
your priorities. Those who are afraid of never having enough, ultimately never have enough.
And those who are grateful for what they already have, always live in abundance.
"The richest man is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least."
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless
and Buddhist Boot Camp.
For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,
where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,
watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode
and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.
Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏