The Truth About Personal Growth

Have you ever noticed that we tend to turn to our spiritual path when we want something from the Creator? Maybe we are having trouble finding love, or maybe our career isn’t going exactly the way we planned. Maybe we are having difficulty with children, or struggling financially. Often, it is when we feel some sort of lack in our lives that we commit the most to a spiritual path or lifestyle, in the hope that by doing so, we will receive the blessings we seek. Though it is true that the closer we connect ourselves to the Creator, the more we allow blessings to flow into our lives, we usually find that, once we have the things we want, we still are not satisfied. This is because our entire notion of personal growth is backwards.

"Our entire notion of personal growth is backwards."

We often think of personal growth as a means to achieving the things we want in life. In reality, the opposite is true: The things we have in our lives are our means to achieving personal growth. Growth is the goal. Everything else is the vehicle that helps us achieve that goal.

Look around you at all the blessings in your life. Maybe you have worked hard and now have a beautiful home. It’s easy to think that all your time and effort has paid off and now you have been rewarded with a house that you love. However, our soul tells us that the work does not stop there. Now that you have a home, you have extra rooms to take in guests and help them feel welcome. You have the space to start a family and bring new lives into the world. Your home can be used as a tool to share more with others. It is the starting point, not the end.

The same is true of the things we want but don’t have yet. We tend to think we know what will make us happy. We think, “If I just had that job, I would be happy.” Most of us know that, many times, even when we get that job, we still aren’t happy. Having the job alone doesn’t satisfy our soul, because it knows how much more it still needs to grow. It knows how much closer we can grow to the Creator and how many more blessings it can receive through that process. When we have a good job, we have more money to assist others, be it through giving to charity or providing for a family. It might allow us to hire people and create more jobs. A blessing is only as beneficial as it allows for continual growth through giving. 

"Growth is the goal. Everything else is the vehicle that helps us achieve that goal."

The spiritual work is to ask ourselves, “How can I grow from the things in my life? And how can I grow even more from the things that I want?” This does not merely pertain to the physical. When we pray for happiness, for strength, for love, or for healing, we should be thinking about how we can use those things to share more with others. The work does not end when we feel happy, healthy, and loved. On the contrary, a better state of mind puts us in a better position to give more to others and grow closer to the Light.

True fulfillment comes when we are in service to others and to the Light, constantly growing our ability to give. Our goal should be to grow our desire more every day, not for ourselves, but for the world.