I love this song called “Look for the Good” by Jason Mraz. Apparently he wrote it when COVID hit. But the lyrics reach far beyond any one situation, threat, or challenge. The song is not about achieving an end game, but rather, it’s about finding the common ground in everything we do. It’s about seeing ourselves in each other, and seeing each other in ourselves. It’s about remembering to remember our shared experiences, rather than forgetting what connects us, and becoming isolated.
Find full YouTube song video here and song lyrics here.
This encouraging song is played with a Reggae beat and it is a fun way to remind ourselves that there are no Enlightened beings, just greater and lesser degrees of Enlightened moments (This concept best described by Dan Millman in his best selling books.) In other words, we can focus less on “becoming Enlightened” and more so on finding whatever good is already here in the present moment.
I have lived this dynamic out a million times, and maybe you can relate? Ever focus on meeting a goal at the expense of all other tasks? Only to find out after said goal is achieved, many other goals have fallen by the wayside? And now we have to make up for the time we lost on other projects when were consumed with achieving that “one goal?”
When we focus on an outcome like running a marathon, or earning a degree or anything that takes out of the “now” and puts us somewhere else, we actually miss the moments that make up the process. And when we miss out on those, we can find ourselves working so hard and even achieving our goals, but there may be a dark cloud of disappointment looming over our heads when goals are reached. Not because we didn’t pursue something worthy, but because we were so focused on the end game we missed the journey.
When we cross a finish line, earn a degree or reach a sales goal we should celebrate! But if we have white knuckled ourselves through the process and missed the little things along the way, we may find ourselves deflated when we get where we thought we wanted to go.
Once we learn that the moment the goal is attained rolls by just as quickly as all the moments it took to get there, it can seem like a let down. I may have pictured running across the fanfare stacked finish line of a marathon a million times, but when I actually did it, the moment passed as quickly as any other. (Find former blog posts “Now What? Parts One and Two” from 2021.)
What’s the remedy? (Also a great song by Jason Mraz click here.) To show up for all the moments, including training, including finishing, including celebrating. By allowing all the parts of our goal pursuits to matter, we get to participate in each moment of our lives, rather than putting most of them to the side, after putting a “done” check mark next to them and extending our “lists” of accomplishments.
Training in any field is a requisite part of achieving something new. When we do so, let’s ‘look for the good’ in all aspects of our experience, not just the shiny one where we are being handed a medal at the end. If we look, we may see the good in someone who gives us advice. Or in our the skill of our body’s ability to train and get faster and stronger. We may notice the smell of clean dryer linens in our travels as we run through the neighborhood, or budding parts of the Earth trying to push through the ground in Spring, or new musicians we find to motivate ourselves.
Every moment of life is a doorway into the next one. We have relentless choice points to decide which doors we will walk through. If we stare at the ground while we are trying to grow, we will necessarily miss the scenery, the nature, the encouragement of mentors and strangers, the lessons and the Wisdom that are available in every moment.
Yes, crossing the finish line of a race is a great motivator, but it only lasts for a moment. Let’s look for more of the good, and find more Enlightened moments while we are also setting our sights on becoming more of who we are through achieving some goal.
That way we multiply our experience of Enlightened moments exponentially, instead of finding Joy that lasts for only: “One-Mississippi; Two-Mississippi; and Three-Mississippi.”
And then is over.