In the world, there is no better. There is only different.
The problem we have as humans stems from the fact that we think different is better, and that we can make the world a better place by making it different. We believe we can change the way we feel by making changes in the world. And maybe, we think, we can achieve happiness by remodeling the outsides of our lives. We make changes on the outside to change conditions within ourselves. We can’t make the world a better place. We can only make it different.
Change for the sake of change is never a route to happiness. It’s only a route to different. Sooner or later, some old version of yourself that showed up in the last round of your unhappiness will usually resurface again after the change is made.
To be sure, the world could use some changes, yet most of us make the mistake of assuming that once the world changes, we change inside. It’s really the other way around: once we change, the world changes.
Happiness and peace are inside jobs. We can only really change on the inside. Once we do, we see that the world never really needed to change. The paradox is that only we needed to, and only on the inside. When we change on the inside, the world changes with us.
© 2022 by Michael C. Just
Mike’s novel, The Dirt: The Journey of a Mystic Cowboy, is available in softcover or eBook formats through Amazon.
You can purchase the book through this website. Or go straight to amazon at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+dirt+journey+of+a+mystic+cowboy&crid=1S40Q4BXSUWJ6&sprefix=the+dirt%3A+journey+of+a+m%2Caps%2C180&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23
Mike’s other titles, including The Crippy, The Mind Altar, and Canyon Calls, are available through this website or through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002
Four of his short stories have recently been published online:
Lies, Ltd. has been published by The Mystery Tribune @ Lies, Ltd.: Literary Short Fiction by Michael C. Just (mysterytribune.com)
The Obligate Carnivore has been published by the Scarlet Leaf Review @ Category: MICHAEL JUST – SCARLET LEAF REVIEW
I See You, Too has been published by the 96th of October @ I See You, Too – 96th of October
Offload, a short story about a man who can heal any disease, is now live and can be read at The Worlds Within at Offload – The Worlds Within