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Recently I was driving in very thick fog. We had to drive slowly because the fog was so dense, we couldn't see very far ahead. We were on a winding road going uphill, and soon the fog had completely shrouded everything from view. It was like soup. It reminded me of what happens to us. When the fog comes, it obscures our vision. It stops us from seeing what we need to see to proceed on this path of life.
This is important because we have but one life. This life is everything. It doesn't help to make comparisons between my life and other people's lives, or to compare today with yesterday. I exist. I am alive. I need to understand my own passion, what my heart is telling me—in each moment, to be quiet enough so I can begin to hear what my heart is trying to tell me.
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The world is a big place. A lot is going on, and many things call to me: "Do this; do this; do this." Other things disguise themselves as fun, and they call to me too: "This is fun. Do this; do this; do this."
But my life, my time, my existence is not about fun. It is about feeling contentment. It is about feeling joy. These are the needs of every human being. These are our desires, above and beyond everything else. How cleverly they get disguised.
What is true accomplishment? What is true reality? What is beyond the fog? When I woke up the next morning, the fog had lifted, and it was the most gorgeous sunrise you could possibly imagine. The light was incredible. What a contrast it was from fog to clarity, from what I couldn't see to what I could see.
People talk about noise pollution and air pollution, but there is another pollution. It's called thought pollution. We are constantly being bombarded by thoughts. It is so easy to allow yourself to get sucked into that river, just going with the flow. "Yes. This is important; that's important."
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Yet everything will change. Nothing is exempt from the touch of change. Time has watched Earth being made. It has watched it cool down and watched the oceans appear. It has infinite patience. It has watched everything change and change and change.
Somehow, the human being was created and given the ability to feel. Of all the things I can feel, I can feel joy; I can feel peace. And I have in this life the possibility of not being affected by all the changes.
Without a worry about tomorrow or yesterday, I can feel fulfilled. When that fulfillment is there, it is timeless. Everything else is bound by time.
Most fortunate are those who say, "What I need to do today is to be in peace." For them no explanation is needed. They understand the possibility that they can be content.
Life is not a conflict. It's this beauty that is dancing for you. Witness this most marvelous dance. Witness the surprise. Witness the most amazing thing that will ever be. In your day, whatever else you do, be fulfilled. It is possible.
Maharaji
