There are so many beautiful things growing up out of the ashes of the unconscious ego self that it is hard to point to just one. Is it the deep compassion you can now have for everyone? Is it the amazing love you can share with one or many? Is it the ease of following your own path without fear of failure? Oh, it’s these and so many more. How wondrous. How beautiful it all is. How beautiful it is to be growing into your greatness.
The Misunderstandings Around Greatness
Few people really understand greatness. Many of you who are arising now from the explosion of awakening are just starting to see it, and it may even still terrify you. This will pass. It will always pass so long as you let the ego’s old fears go. They have no purpose for you. They do not keep you safe and protected. They keep you small and afraid, and that’s kept you separate from your greatness. Ideas about what greatness is and looks like have kept you away from greatness. I can’t tell you how vehement and passionate I can become when I hear someone idolizing someone like Jesus or the Buddha. My statement isn’t a degradation to them; rather it is in support to the continuance of their work and their example. They weren’t telling other people that they were better than everyone else. They were setting an example that we can all follow in our own unique and beautiful ways.
The misunderstandings around greatness are even more problematic than this, however. Western culture glorifies butchers, loud-mouths, and brutes. Consider the filth in most action movies where the man who kills and maims the best is considered a hero (at least if he’s on our side; if not, he’s the villain. In truth, the two are the same). And then there are sports athletes crashing into each other and destroying each other’s bodies. There are also business people trying to suck every last dollar out of other people, and then our culture idolizes these “successful” millionaire and billionaires. Of course, there are plenty of vapid movie stars and singers who are adored as well. While not all athletes are so brutal, not all successful businesspeople are so ruthless, and not all stars are brainless and juvenile, I am simply illustrating some of the ideas around what greatness looks like. I am simply illustrating that these are lies.
Beginning to Perceive Greatness
When you first see greatness at work in you or someone close by, you may overlook it. You may dismiss it or consider it of little consequence. But the helping hand that is freely offered without expectation of remuneration or the free ride to work when a car has broken down are those very seeds of greatness. So often overlooked, many of you may be quick to say, “But how does that stop war and feed the hungry?” It does, but not necessarily in a way that you can readily see. Greatness is built up of small acts of generosity and kindness. It builds the peace around you, and it creates a model of peace and kindness for most people in your local community who don’t think in this way. Most people are still in survival mode, trying to get through the day. When people see you acting in kindness, it begins to change what others think is possible.
This is the start.
The Arising of Greatness Within
As many of you have awakened, you will have noticed that much of your life has been turned upside down. This may have angered many of you, but I encourage you to look closely. What is being turned upside down? What have you been holding onto? What is turning everything around and destroying the old ways of living? It’s you. The real you and the greatness within you that is arising. It needs room to grow. Because this energy is naturally expansive. It cannot live in a cage; you cannot live in a cage. Which means that more than a few walls and metal bars need to be torn down. Again and again, you have to be willing to swing the sledgehammer. Knock down the walls. Kick out the doors. Rip off the ceiling, and dig deep into the foundation. If you are to allow a new vastness to grow into your life, it will need a great deal of space and land to dig its roots into.
The Call to Action
The call to action is very different than many of you may expect. It may not be a loud call. It may instead be a quieter movement. It can sometimes be a shift that has already happened, and you’ve already created all the right circumstances for you to bring enlightened action into your life. And you never really noticed until finally you lifted your eyes up from the ground and saw that you were no longer in the swamp of your soul. Congratulations! But do not work too hard. Working hard isn’t how you got here. Letting go got you here, and then a few smart strokes with the paddle got you into the flow of your life, got you into the flow of God’s plan. Together where you and God meet, there’s a lot less effort required to bring forth conscious action, and most certainly this action is getting noticed. But you may suddenly be quite surprised that you don’t care if it’s noticed or not. You are simply doing what you are called to do when you are called to act in any specific way. When you are not called to act, you simply rest in this greatness, and that too calls to people. It calls out the greatness in others. People may say things like:
“There’s just something about you.”
“I feel drawn to you for some reason.”
“Your energy is amazing.”
Many people will think that you have something or that you can give them something. But that is not it. You simply are being as you are, and that is a dynamic powerful force that requires no action at all.
Growing Into a Modern Day Avatar
As an awakened being, you may be more or less noticeable. In whatever way you chose to do things and wherever you choose to go, you are becoming a modern day avatar–a divine being in earthly body. Ultimately everyone is an avatar, but to move from the awakened space makes this readily apparent. Because just as you once sought greatness from the external world, the external world may decide to heap praise and blame on you for what they feel in your presence. Neither has anything to do with you; it is simply how people have been trained. Just as I am writing to you to help you understand your greatness, soon you will be tasked to do the same…while standing in line at a coffee shop, when out on a date, when talking to your teenager late one night, or some other time. Because people will feel this depth of presence in you. It doesn’t matter if you are an accountant, farmer, healer, community builder, or politician, this awakened energy calls to others, and it continues to grow on its own accord in conjunction with the divine plan. You may find that throughout your life, you’ll need more and more room to grow. You will also have to learn what “more room” means.
Finding Space to Grow
The space that is required is the space of non-judgment. It is the space of freedom to change in your relationships so that they grow, release, or settle. Space for you to grow into your greatness means continuing to release old pain, karma, and unhealthy patterns as you recognize them. Again and again, life around you may change the scenery, and a willing heart is part of what is necessary to embrace the continued changes as well as other supportive people and places. Each time you grow, life shifts. This is simply part of growing into the greatness of your life, and each time things shift, new opportunities arise as old possibilities close. This is how it is, and again and again, it is important to embrace the ever-changing nature of life around you.
Moving Into a Highly Visible Life
As I mentioned before, much of greatness has been confused with fame, physical power, and monetary power. These things are tools, not signs of greatness. However, some of you will be thrust into places of fame, money, and power. What you do in this space will be demanding because it is also an opportunity to re-shape people’s ideas around what greatness is. But many still would rather idolize you than do the hard work of following their hearts and facing their inner darkness. Such is the way the world operates at times. Nonetheless, taking care of yourself in this highly visible place is critical so that you stay centered within and are clear about what is right for you as all kind of opportunities get thrown your way with a whole variety of agendas.
But most of us will be living much quieter lives, and that is just as valuable. Every one of us is an important circuit in the vibrant energy field of humanity. What each of us does and how we are allows greatness to unfold, or we can get stuck in old ego ideas. Even after awakening, unconscious ego habits can persist, which is why it is important to relentlessly embrace the awakened state in every moment. From that dedication–a discipline in love to all and true self-love, you are already aligned with the magnificence of your greatness.
