What Is The Ultimate Prize Of Life?
Doctor Lynn is a Naturopath, yoga nutrition therapist, fitness professional, karma master, published author, international speaker and video producer with over 40 years’ experience in the field of natural health and fitness.
According to Karma, Life's journey is not about your body or mind but your soul. It's about finding the ultimate prize in Life. Humans often get caught up in believing that things in the material world are the ultimate prize and will bring us freedom, joy, and satisfaction.
That is why we spend so much time fretting over the configuration of the body and either denying it or giving it pleasure. We thrash about in our minds, bashing our lives with self-loathing, complaints, fears, and cravings. We get caught up in believing that material wealth will bring us joy, and because our cravings constantly change, we keep searching for something permanent. We lose sight of the ever-changing element of Life while ignoring the underlying essence. Life is continually evolving, and yet its essence remains the same. To discover this is to find the utility prize of Life.
If we accept that change is the only absolute, and it is, why is it so difficult for us to let go and flow with Life? It's because change causes us to feel unsure, anxious, and fearful of the unknown. We feel like we are losing control. We all like permanency because it makes us feel safe, content, and connected. But impermanence is precisely what we need to find the ultimate prize of Life, and that is liberation: the freedom to accept things and let them come and go without attachment.
Liberation does not mean we are free to do whatever we choose. Liberation means being at peace with Life just as it is—it means becoming the observer of Life free of disturbance and judgment. Liberation requires an understanding of Life's ever-changing nature and its never-changing essence.
Although things are constantly changing, the essence of Life never changes. The phrase "The more things change, the more they stay the same," first recorded by French critic, journalist, and novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849, refers to the ever-changing element of nature held fast by the never-changing essence of Life.
Everything in nature is constantly changing, right down to the molecules and cells of your body. But the underlying essence of Life stays the same. Love, hatred, war, peace, feast, famine, birth, and death—Life will always present us with the fundamental challenges of existence. It is our approach to these things that constantly change. Since the beginning of time, humans have raged in war and conflict. How we approach it and what we call it has continuously changed.
We will always need food and shelter. We will always seek love and acceptance, and we will always feel fear and anxiety. These experiences are a part of the essence of human nature and will always remain the same. It's the material world that constantly changes. So, if we can develop the ability to pause and catch a breath at the wonders of Life, we will realize that "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Life is simply an opportunity to learn, grow, and evolve. We can best do this by accepting the things that change with awareness of the things that stay the same. Acceptance and awareness are the pathways to liberation. With liberation, we learn to observe without disturbance or attachment, which is Life's ultimate prize. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Namaste – may you walk the path of Life with health, happiness, and peace.
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Dr Lynn Anderson, Naturopath Yoga Therapist Karma Master
Doctor Lynn is a Naturopath, yoga nutrition therapist, fitness professional, karma master, published author, international speaker and video producer with over 40 years’ experience in the field of natural health and fitness. She has been featured in Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Huffington Post, Shape, SELF and various other national publications, TV networks and Podcasts. She is the author and producer of the Soul Walking series; Karma, Prosperity, Vitality and The Naturopathic Wellness Series; The Yoga of Nutrition and Recipes for Health, Sex, Happiness and Love; and Doctor Lynn’s Proactive-Aging Workouts; DVDs and TV with international distribution; CEC author, Burnout – it happens to all of us.
