Wednesday, August 11, 2021
When you actualize something, you make it into a reality. We often try to actualize ourselves by trying to become something, or “somebody” (a parent, a success, a partner, a nice person, a millionaire, etc.). But turning yourself into a somebody is nothing more than identifying with a certain label that bears no real truth. The truth is, you cannot perceive yourself as an objective reality, although you may do that unknowingly. The next time you look at a group photo (with yourself included), notice where your eyes go first. If you’re anything like me, you look at, and scrutinize the image of yourself, first. Why do we scrutinize ourselves like that, and who are we comparing ourselves to? Honestly, it’s downright impossible to do a comparison like that because there is no comparison. You are as unique as it gets. When you compare yourself to “others,” the metric that you use is a false, conceptual image of who you think you should be, not the truth of who you really are.
Because you are a incomparable being, what you see on the inside, of both yourself and of others, is the great truth of belonging in this world of ours. Self-realization is knowing that you are loved, that you are not one who can be ranked among others, and that you are divinely unique. Trying to actualize yourself into a “real” somebody is nothing more than chasing an illusion. Concepts of the self-actualizing “reality” will dissolve, when you realize there is no lasting meaning to such a label. When you die, the concept of “self” will dissolve. But you can begin that work now, by dissolving the illusion of achievement and the illusion of comparison with “others.” There is no self-actualization, something to become in this world. There is only a self-realization of oneness, completeness, and acceptance. Self-realization is full acceptance of yourself, the one, true self for which there is no comparison. There is tremendous freedom in that realization!