Becoming More: Becoming The Best And Greatest You

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By Glenn Baja

I’m on a mission. And my mission involves each and every one of you. Our children’s future depends on you, as well as our children’s children and all the generations after that. And it all starts with you. It’s about becoming more. It’s about rising and becoming the best and greatest you possible. Can you…will you, do this?

I’m not a pessimist. I’m not a person who regularly looks at what isn’t right in our world vs. what is. As a photographer and experienced traveler, I have seen the beauty and magnificence that this world has to offer. From my perspective, heaven exists right here on earth, but I believe we all are too blinded to see that which exist right before our eyes.

And if we all don’t begin to do something about it, we will fail our future generations. Shame on us if we allow this to happen. There is too much at stake though to just be passive.

Thoughts

My self-thwarted career background degrees are in Biology and Earth Science. My biggest take-aways/awarenesses from my college career is that for every question answered in the sciences, 7 new questions arise. It’s a never-ending descent into questions without answers, questions that may never be answered. The answers we search for are bigger than us, yet the self-imposed limitations we place upon our thinking selves will not allow most of us to think outside of the scientific method of proven formulas, algorithms, and theory.

There certainly is justification and worthiness in this approach. How else would we know what is absolutely true? Yet, our world is larger and more complicated than science may ever be able to prove or disprove. What about the power of thought? What about the power of love? Is light truly the fastest particle/wave that exists in the Universe? Could it be slow compared to the power of thought?

One of my most memorable takeaways from my experience in the Earth Sciences, particularly the Geology/Earth History part of my curriculum, is that the human species didn’t appear on the face of this planet (when our entire earth history is compared to one year’s time) until 10 seconds before midnight on December 31st. We have been around a very short time when looked at earth history from this point of view. However, what I find incredibly disturbing about this, is the notion and belief that if we don’t change the present course we are on, homo sapiens will inevitably be one of the shortest-lived species ever to inhabit the earth!

That, my friends, is called extinction.

Take a look around. We are destroying the very planet that our sustenance and future depends upon. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat…we are contaminating it, altering it, and changing it to the point of it becoming lethal to our survival. We’re not there yet, but is it only a matter of decades before we are? Within the next century? Within the next dozen generations of offspring?

Of course, those of you who have wealth, health, and comfort may not be so concerned. After all, when the resources become scarce, and things get really out of hand and tough, you will be able to remove yourselves and/or buy what you want, whether it be the expensive resources, other peoples allegiance, and exert your power and control over those less capable to get what you want and feel entitled to. Well, that may be true to a certain extent, but is this “self-preservation at all costs” tactic going to create a better world? Is it going to advance our worldly consciousness to the next level? Is it living our best and highest versions of ourselves?

I think not.

Mission

It starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with those of us who are at a point in their lives where we have the time, energy, resources, wisdom, and knowledge to begin making a difference. That group, for the most part, is those of us who have reached, or are about to reach, that stage of life called retirement.

I despise that word. I think retirement kills more people than hard-work ever has, or ever will. Most of us have embraced the notion that retirement is a time to begin sitting back, doing all the things “you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the time or resources”, and raising sails and casting forth into these proclaimed “sunset years.”

STOP IT!!! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!

Get this notion out of you head! The simple fact of nature is that once you stop growing, YOU START DYING! We are meant to challenge ourselves, to grow, to become more, to evolve, to do. We are NOT on this earth just to procreate, consume, and then die, passing the baton on to the next generation to do the same. We are here to EVOLVE! We are here to GROW! We are here to raise the conscious level of ourselves on this planet, and begin realizing that we ALL are part of a puzzle to a brighter future.

And we are failing. We are failing miserably. We are failing to evolve into our greater selves. We are failing to evolve towards that which we know to be right. We are compromising our values, our morals, and our hearts. We are divorcing ourselves from our mission and purpose in life, from what we know to be right, and letting ourselves succumb to the powers and ways that be, rationalizing that “this is the way it always has been, and always will be, and there is NOTHING that anyone can do about it.”

STOP! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!

You have just given your power away! You have just argued for your limitations, and they will be yours! Our challenges are NOT someone else’s responsibility. They are not going to be solved by science, technology, or by someone else! A hero is not going to miraculously appear, wave a magic wand, and make everything right! It’s about time you thoroughly understand this. We cannot keep expecting someone else to solve or take care of the problems that we have created for ourselves.

IT IS UP TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US TO RISE…RISE TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS, A HIGHER LEVEL OF WHO WE ARE!!

It is time we accept responsibility for ourselves and our actions, use our voice and exert ourselves, and recognize that EACH of us needs to create the change we wish to see, beginning with OURSELVES!

We ALL need to start here first.

Solutions

If we allow ourselves to truly take an objective look at our society and how it operates, we become aware that there are forces at work (families, corporations, special interest groups) that drives, controls, and exerts power over us. This has been going on for centuries, and is now deeply embedded and accepted as part of our everyday culture, and largely the world as well. These forces control the money, the corporations, our educational systems, our food sources, and our politics, infiltrating every important nook and cranny of the world that can exert control and utilize us as economic slaves. Slavery isn’t over…it has just been strategically manipulated and covertly masqueraded in myriads of ways. These families, these groups who have been around for generations and control the wealth of the nation, and of much of the world, have systemically determined over time who, how, what they need to control to have even more power.

I must admit, they certainly have done a fine job at brainwashing us all into believing that the life we have been brought into is the life that we all should be living, striving for, and pursuing. It has become an addiction for them…to wealth, power, and control, and we are all on their bandwagon playing their tune and taking said direction, just as they want us to do.

What can we do? How can we begin to create change while forced to work within the parameters of what has been created? How can we begin to have a positive impact and begin changing the “crash course” to oblivion that we are on?

Here is what we can do:

1. First and foremost, get the notion of retirement out of your head. Go ahead, take a few “gap” years if you need to in order to fulfill those life-long ideals of retirement that have been spoon-fed to you. I believe that you’ll soon find you will need something more to work towards than leisure and fun. Golf, shop, travel, explore, sky-dive, ski…do all the things you want to, but I believe you will inevitably discover that you want more out of life. Somewhere, deep inside, you will inevitably know that you were meant for more. You will recognize that you have more miles and dreams left within you, more to give, and more to be, do, and have in life. You can retire at 90. Don’t consider retiring anytime sooner than that.
2. Realize and acknowledge that you were put on this earth for a purpose. It isn’t “by chance” that you have graced this planet. Shift your perspective. Begin asking yourself some really deep and important questions. “Why am I here?” “What is it I am meant to do?” “If I was going to operate from my best and highest self, what would I start doing?” Do this internal work. Your answers cannot be found in any book, scientific journal, or website. They will come from within. Ponder, think, journal, and take notes along the way. Get outside in the natural elements and soak in its wisdom. Ask yourself great questions. Great questions will result in great answers.
3. Begin…right now. None of us will likely be the one person to create massive change, but we all can be part of the change. What is important is that we DO something. NOW. Find like-minded people, create a meet-up group, join website groups who have an interest similar to yours. Just do something…anything. Trust the process. It will evolve. The Universe works in wonderful and creative ways. It has a knack for leading you to the right person, the right situation, or the right resource that you’re looking for. Trust in this. Don’t worry about science proving or disapproving these sources of miracles. You have enough life experience to know that these things DO happen.
4. Get help. You cannot do this alone. We are stronger together than apart. If you need clarity, courage, or energy, find a coach or someone who can help you get back on track. If you need to develop leadership skills, learn how to be more influential, or develop productivity strategies, find a coach or mentor you can work with to help drive you forwards. Always step forwards. Take a step forwards every day, no matter how big or small, towards that which feeds your mind, purpose, and mission.
5. Be patient. Some days will be easier than others. If you slip and fall, get back up. You’re not in this for the short-term. This is long-term thinking and doing. This just may be your life’s greatest work that you are undertaking…the most important work you’ll ever do. Get focused. Educate yourself when needed. Do whatever you need to do to create forward momentum.

Others just may be counting on you!