It’s funny how themes sometimes emerge each week in my practice. I am not sure why it happens but it does so often enough that I take note. If one person is feeling a certain way, or I notice a certain origin of their experience, chances are at least another two or three clients are experiencing the same.
This last week, the theme of “more” kept coming up and not just in my practice but in my life outside of my office as well. The general sentiment was that even though life was fine and even good, they couldn’t help but long for more. Something was missing and yet they couldn’t quite put their finger on what.
Yet, the guilt they might be experiencing from wanting more when they “should” be grateful for what they have in front of them makes it even harder to understand (and certainly pursue) this longing.
I observed the efforts made in striving for the “more” they seek – more money, more accolades, more responsibility, more friendships, more house, more work, more importance. Just more.
I also observed that these efforts generally result in more exhaustion, more frustration, more resentment, more anxiety, more disappointment and more burnout.
So, even if those efforts do yield the seemingly desired results, the costs of depletion outweigh any short term gain.
More, in these terms, isn’t working. So much effort and energy longing to fill what’s missing when really, that hole can only be filled from within. The peace that is missing is simply our disconnect from our own selves, our own truth.
The “more” we seek is already waiting within our beautiful, brilliant selves.
Instead of straying further from our peace with the noise and pulls outside of us, perhaps the invitation is to pause, to come back home, to lay down the search, to do less. And oh, when you consider doing less, while your head might resist it, isn’t there some part in your body that softens and may even feel the tension melt away?
Our sweet little human brains tend to complicate things but the answer here is quite simple (not easy, but simple!). Doing less is how we get to more.
As it turns out, Less really is More.