I often challenge myself on whether I think I am materialistic or acting in a materialistic way. In this 24/7 world of connected media driven by the money of Madison Avenue, it’s easy to feel this way. I am constantly feeling the pull of this offer or that advertisement. Those marketers just know how to pull on my emotions and get my senses excited. I feel like I want that thingamawho and need that other doohicky because of course, I will look/feel/smell/taste/sound better if I had it ALL!
I believe that right now the Universe is having me go through an exercise of questioning and considering what it is that is important to me and what it is that truly makes me happy and unhappy too. Are the things that I have surrounded myself with really all that impactful on my overall happiness or are they actually detrimental to that wellbeing? I am still in the midst of considering this so I don’t know the answer and don’t know if I will ever really know the answer but I am pretty sure that objects and possessions are not what it’s all about. I mean, this is a fundamental teaching of true yoga right?
I think I at least know it’s all about the ego. Or at least its genesis is the ego. The ego likes to compare. The ego likes short term satisfaction. But on the other hand the ego also likes fear - the “monkey mind” if you will. It drives us to make choices that result in possession and then it freaks us out by making us worry about money and the source of money AND THEN it tells us that money is the answer. The more money we have, the happier we will be because we won’t have to worry about money anymore, of course. It seems so simple. But we lose site of what truly makes us happy which are the things that don’t require lots of money.
Getting back to the materialistic slant, I drive a sporty little BMW. Does that make me materialistic? I live in what I define as my dream house but at a minimum I think I can fairly characterize as a nice house. Does that make me materialistic? I choose to spend a large portion of my money on these things. Why? Well, mainly because I can right now, quite honestly but also because at the end of the day, I enjoy these things. Does that make me materialistic?
It would be easy to let my yoga get to me. It would be easy to feel guilty. But I choose to view it in the context of a larger purpose. I don’t know what that purpose is but I do believe it exists and that as I move down my Path, I will be made aware of my purpose as it unfolds. The things I have and the methods by which I acquired these things are part of a purpose that I can’t explain nor define. But it is a purpose nonetheless. Who am I to argue with that by turning away from these things or giving them up altogether? I suppose if I did that it would be part of my purpose too but I am not doing that because part of my purpose is my personality which is a significant input to my purpose.
Maybe I am fooling myself. Maybe I should be giving it all up and joining a yogi monastery. But something tells me that is not my purpose. Something tells me that the more important thing to do is to enjoy this time while it exists because tomorrow it could be gone or, knock on wood, severely impacted in some unforeseen way. But I guess if that happens, it’s just another piece to the purpose puzzle.
Ultimately I have learned that it’s all about the yoga and that has brought me amazing comfort. The poses are great and I love how they make me strong and when they make me sore and my physical body rejoices. But it’s the fundamentals of breathing and being present that remind me what’s really important because they trickle off my mat and into my life. It’s not the car, the house and most definitely not the money. These are just icing on a cake that is made from love. Love of life. Love of family. Love of friends. Love of the little details like the smell of the honeysuckle wafting through the spring air. Love of the moment because of how unbelievable the moment truly is. The yoga reminds me to remind myself of these things and to pay attention to them NOW, not the possibility that they might be there for me to enjoy tomorrow when I have more money.
The more often I practice - both physically and metaphysically - the more I am grounded by the fundamental ingredient of yoga which is love. If you took it all away and had nothing but love for it all, would you be unhappy? This is the question of questions. And although I am reluctant to give a confident answer, I know in my heart that the answer is yes. The monkey mind wants me to think I would be unhappy without the car or the house or the money especially. But my heart tells me that if I had love, in all its amazing forms, I would be happy.
Enlightenment has been defined as the state of realization in which the subtlest traces of ego and ignorance about the nature of reality are purified or eliminated. I think if I could allow my heart convince my ego that love is truly the answer, that I would be one enlightened yogi.
