“Of all you see, only love is infinite.”
~Rumi
As I continued unlearning life and chiseling away accumulated-but-unnecessary rock, and shifting my ikigai away from myself and towards others, I began to recognize something important… about energy. Shortly after my realization, on a summer evening, in 2020 at 7:38, I was asked by a friend if I’d write a chapter for her fabulous book called Codes of Longevity. This request was completely UNEXPECTED, but I jumped at that opportunity to put into words what I had been learning about different types of energy. The chapter is called The Happy Formula and here’s what I wrote about the differences between earthly energies and spiritual energy:
Happy is built upon a foundation of capacity.
I think of capacity as the ability to take care of myself and to have something left over to give to others. It’s my personal responsibility to become fully optimized as a human being, utilizing the gifts that I’ve been given to create the life I want to live. My capacity builders are physical fitness, mental fitness, financial fitness, and spiritual fitness.
Physical Fitness is all about strengthening the body, and encompasses not only exercise, nutrition, hydration, and sleep, but important health maintenance like doctor’s visits, diagnostics, and bloodwork. It’s important to note that the energy created by the practices of physical fitness are finite. What gets used up must be replaced with food, water, sleep, exercise, and so on.
Mental Fitness (commonly referred to as mental health) is all about strengthening the mind, and while not as tangible as physical fitness, it is just as vital. Mental fitness includes reading, meditation and reflection, goal-setting, creativity, lifelong learning, and the pursuit of hobbies. The energy created by the practices of mental fitness is also finite. The mind tires from use and must be rested, and its energy replenished.
Financial Fitness is building the financial resources needed to provide for yourself and others, and for me personally it is connected to a deep-seated sense of responsibility to do so. It creates the freedom to do the things I want to do and to enjoy them to the fullest, without financial worry. Of course, financial fitness is also finite. To maintain financial resources, every dollar spent must be replaced.
Spiritual Fitness is focused on discovering and cultivating the inner being that is my unique soul. Spirituality is learning to detect the differences between energy and ideas created by my mind (earthly energy) and those generated from deep within my awareness (spiritual energy). Spiritual Fitness is knowing that my inner spirit is my direct connection to the greater magnificence of everything in the Universe. It is my practice of holding and strengthening those moments when my “spirit is caught” and staying in-spirit more and more each day. It’s awesome to exclaim that Spiritual Fitness is infinite. The more you use, the more you have. It’s a lot like Love…well, actually, it is Love!
Earthly Energy is finite and becomes less with use.
Spiritual Energy is infinite and becomes more with use.
A life of fame and fortune is built upon a foundation of desire for one’s self and is fueled by energies of the earth. It comes from the physical world around you, is measured by the distorted and everchanging standards of the ego and is fueled by the earthly energies (physical fitness, mental fitness, and financial fitness) all of which are finite. These inputs require continuous replenishment until the fame and fortune eventually fades away. Everything earthly eventually gives way. It is finite.
A life of humility and service sits upon a foundation of love for others and is fueled by the energy of the Spiritual World. It springs forth from the spirit well within you, is measured by the pure and constant justice of the heart and is fueled with spiritual energy which is infinite. Spiritual energy derives from a limitless, supernatural realm of goodness that works completely the opposite of the earthly energies. Rather than requiring continuous replenishment, the more you use spiritual energy, the more of it you have. One act of kindness creates a positive ripple adding to the energy within the giver and within the receiver… and even within the observer. The more love you give to others, the more love you have to give. Even more, giving to others creates other givers, too. Spiritual energy is never ending. It is infinite.
Realizing the limitations of earthly energy and the limitlessness of spiritual energy helped me develop the first iteration of the Happy Formula, which fueled me further along the transformational path. In part 3, you’ll learn how a simple request to create a one-hour workshop about entrepreneurship became the UNEXPECTED catalyst that revealed the next important insight on the journey of my great big change of heart.
I’m wishing you all the Happy in life that you can possibly imagine…
With love,
[Click here to read part three]
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