Bismillah … Well, it’s that time of month again. I never thought that I would be writing this much; but I guess that it all has to just pour out of me. I spent a long time in seclusion; and I continue to try to withdraw, as much as I can. Sometimes, however, we are forced to come out into the open. This is one of those hidden spiritual dynamics.
As I’ve said before, there are going to be some difficult times ahead of us … right now, it seems that a lot of people are concerned with the rising cost of living. This is going to be a challenge for many of us; but we should also try to remember, that life is supposed to be difficult. In fact, life is supposed to be both easy, and difficult. Life is full of contradictions.
At the same time, there does seem to be a kind of collective awakening that is taking place … we have come to realize, as a society, that some of the things that we have tried to do over the past several decades have not turned out quite as well as they were supposed to. As a result, we will have to rethink many of these things. We will have to rethink healthcare; our food supply system; education; morality. Dave Ramsey, a personal finance author, once wrote: “Common sense just ain’t so common anymore.” It is easy to lament these things; but lamentation does not lead to a solution. We will instead have to focus on the positive aspects of what we want to accomplish.
….. …..
In this article, I would like to share with you the idea that there are certain qualities we can develop, which can increase our “attractiveness” to others. This is an important life skill to develop because, in my experience, good things have to be attracted to us, in order for us to be able to receive them. For example: we cannot force someone to want to spend time with us. If we try to force someone, like a friend, to engage in some kind of an activity with us, it could potentially have the opposite effect, which is to subtly push them away, on a subconscious level. This would then be considered an act of “repulsion;” to repel, is the opposite of attraction. Therefore, if we are not being attractive in some way, we may in fact be repelling others, without even being aware of it.
What causes attraction? In the end, we should always say that God knows best. There are many people who try to apply the “Law of Attraction;” but I think that this kind of a philosophy is somewhat thin, and insubstantial. Sure, there are some good things about it. But when I compare the modern personal development genre to my own studies of religion, I find that the latter contains much more depth and nuance, when it comes to some of these critical life issues.
Nevertheless: there do seem to be certain character traits that we should strive for, as these can improve the quality of our lives. One of them, is “novelty.”
….. …..
Novelty, in my view, refers to a kind of forward-thinking movement, which is always looking to introduce new things into one’s life. It can be very complex; I’m certainly not qualified to be talking about these things, and I don’t like to pretend as if I am. Rather, all of these writings that I do are primarily for my own benefit. I simply have to put these things down on paper, and into writing, in order for my mind to be able to process them.
When I spend time around people who are “successful,” I notice that they are very forward-thinking. They are always talking about the future; what they will be doing this weekend, next weekend, next month. And they talk about things in a way that is tangible, and productive. This is a kind of novelty. On the other hand, I have also noticed and observed those who are “less” successful … and it often ends up being the case, that they are very negative in their views and beliefs. They love talking about the past … but not in a way that is productive. Rather, they are focused on trying to relive their glory days. Instead of being open to new possibilities, and new ways of thinking, they have a habit of putting down even the slightest mention of something positive, or new. As a result, they create stagnation, and blockages in their own life.
This is one of the reasons, I think, why “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” “Rich” can mean many things; it is certainly not limited only to money. But whoever has an abundance of something is, generally speaking, a very positive person. Another way to think about this is in terms of “producers,” and “consumers.” Robert Kiyosaki, another finance author, once made this distinction. He said that if we want to achieve more success in life, we should try to produce as much as we can, in terms of multi-faceted value. And that’s what people who are progressing in life seem to do: they produce positive emotions; they introduce new ideas; and they serve others, without necessarily wanting something in return. All of these things, in my understanding, are manifestations of the concept of novelty.
