As children, we didn’t just dream big, we dreamt of the grand monumental vastness of the unrestrained, unexplored possibilities of the impossible.

Rational thinking never reared its ugly head in our direction because rational thinking, by definition, is the learned ability to apply reason—reason being the justification of a belief or judgement resulting in sanity. The process of assimilating the world based on judgment and a communal opinions and understanding.

We didn’t let the constraints of time, space, and opinions limit us as kids. If we could imagine it, it was attainable. If we could fantasize about it, then it was absolutely feasible. The unknown didn’t scare us, it excited us. And that being said…

At some point along our path of adding years to our life, we begin to get disillusioned.

We drink the “koolaid,” so to speak.

Whether it’s society’s pull, the expectations of others, or the sheer apathy that sets in from struggling—the cause and blame is completely irrelevant. What happens is that we become derailed from our personal endeavor to seek acceptance from others, to adopt a new set of priorities, a more comfortable view on life, and a new, more uniform path that appears to lead to less suffering—to go with the stream, instead of fighting against it.

The view that we had of life with our childlike imaginations holds more truth than the delusions which we so staunchly adhere to as adults. I see it as some profound game that has been drawn out way too far, to the point where those who are able to see beyond the rules see no point in playing.

Those who are living within the game are too deep in the illusion that they don’t understand that they are only an avatar—a pawn living a life they never wanted. A life that doesn’t even remotely resemble that of what they dreamt of as a younger being with unclouded vision. I see it as a shroud of confusion, a heavy armor of discord.

After writing my article, Tips For Butchering Your Life (So You Can Finally Live), many people asked how I started the process of butchering my life.

Here are the mental and physical steps that I took in order to slaughter the mind-frame of settling and start my strategic butchering.

• Personal Responsibility:

No one is coming to save us. No one is going to take the crucial steps to make any one of us happy. No one is going to constantly remind us of our deepest, unfettered and repressed dreams. No matter how much they love us. If they’re not doing it for themselves, then they just don’t get it. And If they are harnessing their dreams, then believe me, they’re too busy to continually ride someone else. This is your path. Your own personal journey. Your responsibility. You must take the initiative.

• Money:

Live more simply. If one relies on an extensive array of monetary possessions to make them happy, then they are in need of a lot of soul searching. There are three things that should make one happy: yourself, the unconditional love that you share with other beings, and the beauty in the illusion of life. Don’t let the weight of “stuff” hold you back from your emancipation. There may be some major pairing back along the way, but I can tell you from experience, it is a necessary and healthy priority reset.

• Ubiquitous Acceptance:

There are, and will always be, things we will not understand, that we will not know, that we cannot accept into our awareness. This thing we so generally call “life” is nothing but a mental construct that we have to believe in order to be “real” to us. As noted above, if we choose to adhere to his notion of sanity of these judgements, these communal beliefs, opinions and understandings, then we have just limited ourselves immensely. Gracefully accept what we perceive “is,” what we perceive “is not,” what “could be” with and without reason and everything in between. Pure, pervasive openness.

• Pervasive Love:

The old adage still holds true: we can’t love others until we can truly love ourselves. So start there. We need to grant ourselves the grace to make mistakes and then learn from them, to be absolutely perfect in our own imperfections. From there we can truly understand our personal worth, which is invaluable. Each of us is an absolutely incredible being worthy of complete and total happiness and unconditional love. None of us should settle for a life less than what we desire. Once that steadfast personal value is established, we are heavily armed to proceed through life loving ourselves and those around us.

Taking the time to meditate on our personal needs, re-connect with our deepest dreams, and free ourselves from our own mental constraints, starts this process of contemplating emancipation.

From there, it’s all within our control. Once we know what we need, nothing will be able to block our paths. Nothing.

Sending love, strength and empathy to every friend that I have had the honor of meeting, along with those I have yet to meet, as you navigate your way through the challenging times along your path.

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Courtesy of Author