by Tom Towns
GUEST COLUMNIST
The most important decision when embarking on the spiritual journey is deciding how to choose the right battle. Struggle is always involved, unless we are one of the lucky ones born into this world completely comfortable with spiritual journeying. Most of us struggle to keep to this path.
While it's unfortunate that a struggle is required to reach the final destination of the spiritual journey, the trip is worth the cost, because we arrive at a destination that fills our lives with tremendous peace, a site where we feel joy throughout our lives, a location where we cannot help but find ways to give of ourselves. Yes, the struggle is unfortunate, but it is certain.
And if the struggle is certain, then we must pick the right battle. Choosing the right struggle is the most important decision to make, because all of us on the spiritual journey more than likely will spend the better part -- if not all -- of our lives on it.
It takes a long time to figure out who is most likely to lead us in the correct direction and who will most likely lead us astray. When we are younger, we might assume that everyone is on this path and has our best interest at heart. As we grow older, however, and look back at our journey, we begin to identify who led us astray and who we can trust. It takes much of our lives to discover these truths, and so it takes much of our life to finally grab hold of that divine intuition that directs us where and where not to go for help. Choose your battle wisely.
In our youth, we might have chosen to struggle with other people and ideas. We might have gotten into discussions and occasional arguments, lasting late into the night, only to find out that we made no headway on our journey. Perhaps a friend told us about a guru, who "clearly understood all things," and, because it was our friend who told us, we sallied forth only to find out that our contribution to the guru went solely to fund the block-long limousine parked outside the guru's plush sanctuary.
Because we were young and had endless energy, we might have taken a long, arduous pilgrimage across the Himalayas to Shangri La, where we sadly discovered innumerable pigs and fowl and lousy accommodations -- not the heavenly abode we imagined. All these struggles came to no avail; and, although our heart was in the right place, we wound up in the wrong place. Our hopes and dreams sent us exploring, but we arrived at dead-ends. Sleepless nights turned into anxious days, because the battle we chose wasn't the right one. And so, many of us young pilgrims on the spiritual journey gave it up all together.
But as we age, the spiritual journey can actually become easier. It becomes easier because the allure of the world fades. Those all-night discussions grow unappealing. We learn that arguing with anyone about anything is always futile, because we learn over the years that people are going to do whatever they want no matter how illogical their plan. After a certain age, all the gurus in the world begin to look like they belong in high school, and they're too young to know much. Why waste our money and time funding baby know-it-alls? And eventually, our maturing bodies redefine Shangri La, seeing it less as a place of enlightenment and more like a cruise ship with comfy beds and regular meals.
And so, when we're older -- and possibly wiser -- we might ask again, "How do we choose the right struggle to pursue when we embark on our spiritual journey?" And the answer comes into focus as we mature and the charm of the world fades. It's then when we discover that the right battle was never with the world or with other people, but within ourselves.
As our eyes grow weaker, the glamour of shiny baubles holds less interest for us. And as our ears grow deaf, the once exciting sounds of rowdy attractions leave us cold. We begin to see with another set of eyes. We begin to hear the voice of our true foe; that little tyrant who sat for our entire lives, seated on its throne, located right between our ears. We discover that we have met the enemy, and it is us.
In true humility we understand that we allowed that little tyrant to seduce us into going over here and there for spiritual enlightenment only to learn that it was a waste of our time. With penitent hearts we acknowledge how we permitted this egotistical autocrat to compel us to acquire this trinket, only to bust our budget and our hopes. But, glory be, finally we realize where and with whom the right struggle must take place, and we needed go only as far as the nearest mirror.
So, the most important decision when embarking on the spiritual journey is deciding on how to choose the right battle. For most of us, it takes a lifetime to figure out. And once we figure it out, we often desire to spare others the waste and cost of their struggle in all the wrong places.
However, we also discover that most people need to find out the truth of the matter on their own; finding out that the right battle is not out there, but inside themselves. And so I say, for all of us, regardless of where we are on our trek to find the peaceful and joyful destination of the spiritual journey, best of luck to you, for we're all on this expedition together. Choose wisely.
Bon voyage, Tom