Whose Evolution Is It Anyway?
What are the difference between surviving and thriving? Before you read the rest of this post, think for a few minutes on what are the difference between the two for you.
Our lives are so multifaceted that it is a mistake to conclude that life is either one or the other. When I try to categorize my life as any one thing, my over simplification seems to creates more problems than it solves. Looking at the relationships to my significant other, children, work, and to myself (to name a few) and evaluating them individually is the best way for me to see where I am surviving and thriving.
The difference between the two can be very tricky business. It is easy to take our cultural definition of success and use it as our own definition of thriving. It’s way to easy to get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves to others and effectively create an image defined by someone else as to what our thriving looks like. Surviving in style can also feel and look like thriving.
Within each of us resides our truths. A wondrous part of life is the ever exploring and unearthing of these truths. Being at the epicenter of our evolvement is what personal and spiritual growth is all about.
Who’s in charge of our evolution anyway? Our past? Our reactions to life around us? Our evolvement is in part about achieving what was not even on our radar of possibility yesterday. To experience this requires a greater awareness that not only can we become more, but that it’s waiting inside us to be discovered. Not that who we are is not good enough, but that there are always greater possibilities. So many parts of our lives are there to propel forward what we can become.
Are there areas in your life that you feel are more on the survival end of the spectrum or that you are stuck in neutral? What areas in your life do you feel that you are thriving? What one thing can you do this week to change an aspect of your life from surviving to thriving?
