What Do We Lose While Chasing After Things?

And we… like a pendulum, swinging back and forth, are caught in a state of trying to catch everything while also running away from things. In reality, we aren't really doing either properly. We end up feeling a little more incomplete, a little more exhausted… always in limbo.

The question "Why?" is the most important key that opens the doors of perception. For example: Why are we in such a rush to catch everything? What does this effort bring us face-to-face with? Naturally, the illusion of "time".

The more you chase time, the more it will run away from you. Time is just a concept, a relative illusion. We project meaning onto it within the limits of our perception. But have you ever realized how much you drift away from yourself, from your own center, while trying to get close to time—or even while struggling within the very thick of it?

The mind either gets stuck in the past or generates anxiety for the future. That is why time is an illusion. The only way to escape the prison of our minds is to notice the "now". Noticing the now means acknowledging your current life energy, the breath you are taking, who you are with, the action you are taking, your intention, and most importantly, how many things you have to be grateful for—not because of what you had in the "past" or how hopeful you are about the "future," but simply because of your state in the "now".

Is your belly full right now? Are your loved ones with you? Even if you have a health problem, are your hands and feet at least working?. Our blessings, the things we can be grateful for, are endless. And are we doing what’s required of us in that moment? That’s it! That is enough for us to be satisfied and peaceful. But for some reason, even if we manage this for a moment, the next minute we start clinging to the past, the future, our fears, other people's lives, and our anger. If we seek peace, we need to create awareness to be in the presence of the Creator at all times.

Those who can step outside of time approach their own essence. Because the mind and body belong to time. Yet, the essence belongs to the now.

While we strive to capture everything outside, we miss out on ourselves within. Perhaps we are struggling so much with others, TV shows, news, and what everyone is doing on social media just to avoid facing what we are truly running away from. We fill our calendars, our minds, our time, our stomachs, our homes, our wardrobes, our refrigerators, and everything we think we own: objects, professions, friends, degrees, certifications, projects, screens. We fill our lives with the labels society imposes on us as "identity" and "value": parent, child, friend, spouse. We even fill them with our emotions, leaving no room at all: anger, haste, expectations, hopes, fear, hatred.

What’s even sadder is that we teach this to our children from a young age. We run them around like racehorses, from one course to another. Our intentions are quite "innocent"; we want them to discover their talents, be knowledgeable in every field, develop, or perhaps we think, "My child shouldn't fall behind because their friend is going". But unfortunately, because we overdo it, we deprive them of the right to be alone with themselves, to discover who they are, and to learn to listen to their inner voice.

I’m not saying we should abandon all of these; these are the requirements of being human. We are whole with them, and we are educated in this world school through them. But we have crossed the line; we have fallen into "lust" for everything.

We will only be able to find harmony when we find balance in our lives. That is why it would be very beneficial to realize how meaningless many of the things we chase are, how much they distance us from ourselves and from the Truth, and to start paying attention to the other side of the coin.

If we first cleanse ourselves of our patterns, habits, and fears—if we "break our idols," in a symbolic sense—we will make room for what is real and "essential". Leave yourself, your social circle, and your calendar a little empty. Rest assured, that void will open new windows for you. Because that void is actually not an absence, but on the contrary, a space waiting to be filled for years.

In that space, you will start to hear the whisper of a "you" beyond yourself. It asks you questions, unique only to you: "Are you truly happy?", "Who are you really?", "Why are you here?", "What are you feeling?"... It asks the most fundamental, the simplest, the most sincere questions. It invites you to the child within, to the temple in your heart.

Silence is a mirror that brings to the surface all the truths we have been ignoring. Silence is the most powerful thing. The more you close your ears to the outside, the more you open them to the inside. That whisper coming from your essence, that divine spark breathed into you by the Creator, begins to speak. And the one who speaks is the true "You"; not your possessions, titles, identities, or labels.

Facing these questions is not easy. Because facing them opens the door to change. Transformation carries the energies of death and rebirth. And the greatest fear of a human is death. But one must not forget; we will die one way or another. We must realize the truth in the words: "Every soul shall taste death".

There are two kinds of death for us; bodily and spiritual. No matter how much we try to run away, we will eventually experience bodily death. Bodily death is mandatory, but the other is a matter of earning. Those who have attained perfection have always tried to explain this to humanity with the advice: "Die before you die".

But there is also the "zombie" state—living while appearing to be alive bodily. Spiritual death is the extinguishing of the light within, the exhaustion of curiosity, the severance of the bond with one's essence. The heart beats, one breathes, but one does not live.

Then we understand that: bodily death is inevitable, but spiritual death is a choice. And resurrection, too, is possible only by one's own hand.