A life of vision means you are following what you cannot see– but know. Following your heart is radical stuff. It’s the commitment to follow a scent and vibration not of this world. Your life may look like less than you imagined, but do not be deceived.

You do not yet know how to imagine. Because you’re on a journey that’s never been lived before. That’s why self-comparison is insanity.

When you want to live your unique path, one inspired by a Source of unpredictable genius, it would be impossible to measure how you are doing by looking at the paths of others. Of course, that won’t stop you from doing it. Or at least it sure didn’t stop me.

I remember years ago, I was walking through the woods, a canopy of green, chirping inwardly, feeling groovy. Then out of nowhere my mind slammed into self-judgment. It lit on a billboard I’d seen earlier, advertising Newport cigarettes. A young woman my age and a hunk of a man with shocking black hair and blue diamond eyes were running through a stream, kicking up a spray of water, with blinding smiles that would make any dentist break out into an aria– and the ad read “Alive with Pleasure.” Alive with pleasure? Oh my God, the pressure.

Was I alive with pleasure?  Was muzzy contentment on a Saturday afternoon good enough?

I thought I had been doing fine because I wasn’t in my usual anxiety, funky, punky state of mind. But was I missing out again? Was I living a pathetic life? Oh, don’t tell me, were the cool kids really kicking up their heels in streams?

And just like that, I became self-conscious– which led to self-absorbed– which led to hell in a worn-out hand basket. Now my inner critic or ego was Alive with Pleasure, that’s for damn sure.

I think we’ve all cast ourselves out of Eden and it’s time to come back home. No offense to religion, but here’s my take on things. Adam and Eve were naked and free and fine and fabulous, letting it all hang loose like grapefruits. Then they listened to a sneaky voice that made them self-conscious.

That means they probably encountered an advertisement. They saw that they did not have a Toyota RAV 4, six pack abs, or the best engagement on their social media campaign. It was a day of misgivings. A day of leaving behind the delight and innocence of living your own life.

We live in a world where we know too much, and yet we know so little that matters.

We know what Kim Kardashian ate for breakfast. Still, many of us don’t know what we want from this lifetime. We don’t know how to experience our own birthright of abundance and freedom. We focus on external information and comparison. We become removed from our own lives, instead of moved by our moments.