Getting to the Essence

Each time we take a good look at ourselves and the things that we do, we are peeling back a layer to get to our true essence. Perhaps earlier in our lives we were focused on becoming the next corporate manager, officer or vp. Perhaps we were concerned about being successful, famous or wealthy. But now, at a later stage, we can be happy to just be. What we have done so far, we have done. Now we can decide that there are other goals or activities that deserve our attention and that these actions are appropriate for us now.

At various times in our life, we get busy with so many projects that we don't have the time or patience to just relax with one of them. So now we can focus on one business activity we want to excel in, or one charity that we will choose to support. Certain friends and relatives who we want to keep in touch with, leaving room for new friends and acquaintances, but letting some old ties dissolve.

As we pare back the layers we do not really need, we get down to the things that are really important to us. Perhaps that is why as we gain experience and wisdom, we come to cherish certain relationships and experiences even more. We choose to study with an eye toward what is meaningful. We choose to do things that we really care about doing.

While earlier in our life, we may have been about accumulating, later, we become more about letting go. When we let go, we get a renewed appreciation of what is left when there is just us.