I answer e-mails every week from people I don’t know, usually asking me about some aspect of being a small business owner. Here’s this week’s question: How does one lead a meaningful spiritual life in a bad economy?
Now this question isn’t necessarily about being a business owner. But I kind of got the feeling that it came from a business owner who has bought into the energy of “the economy is nothing but bad” and who also is feeling exhausted and defeated. And more than likely, there’s just a little bit of resistance to looking within himself for answers to the slowness of his business and the lack of profitability he is experiencing – so – it’s EASY to start talking/thinking/blaming the “bad economy” for taking away his meaningful spiritual life (along with his business). So, maybe this person is finding it hard to keep his spirit up because of a lack of income in his business – I don’t know, just guessing.
This question made me think a lot about the relationship of our own spiritual ground and the situations we find ourselves in as life goes on. Because I know from my own experience and that of others that developing and living from one’s own belief system and character informs everything we do and sustains us in both good times and frustrating times. Our personal growth and way of being affects all we do, personal or business.
So here’s my answer: Being in a bad economy has nothing to do with leading a meaningful life or a spirit based life, either. Think about the world’s greatest wisdom teachers. Jesus certainly wasn’t rich, and neither was the Buddha. In fact, being of good spirit no matter your outward circumstances is the very essence of a meaningful, spiritual lifestyle. Rich or poor, bad economy or good economy, one can live into a meaningful life or one can live what I call an “unawake and unaware” life. Level of income or success doesn’t matter – some rich people have meaningful spiritual lives and some don’t at all. The same for poorer people. Money is not a qualified for a meaningful, spiritual lifestyle. Intention, openness, gratitude, and lack of fear is.
This question made me think once again that it isn’t what happens in our surroundings that is important as much as it is how we react or give meaning to what has happened. Keeping our ground is the key thing for business or any other part of life, seems to me.
Jennifer Bourn says
January 21, 2013 at 12:15 pmSue – You’re so right! “Being in a bad economy has nothing to do with leading a meaningful life or a spirit based life.”
It’s true that it IS about how we choose to react to what is happening around us. We can choose to see the negative or positive. We can choose to let it get us down, or to let it roll off our back … it’s all about choices and the good new is, you can shift things right away simply by making a different choice today!
Jennifer Bourn, Bourn Creative
Tara powers says
January 21, 2013 at 12:45 amSue, you are absolutely right that fear, feelings of lack, jealously and envy are what cause us to feel disconnected to ourselves and the world around us. As others have mentioned some of the poorest people in the world are the happiest and that is because it is NOT material things and money that bring us happiness, it’s something so much deeper. We all have to keep searching until we find it. I know that is one of my goals this year is connect on a deeper spiritual level to what it means to live in this world, connect, love, give and be at peace.
Thanks!
Mitch Tublin says
January 20, 2013 at 10:08 pmYour mindset is the key. There are plenty of people who choose to be miserable even when the economy is great.
If you want to be successful, however you define this for yourself, begin each day with the mindset to love being
alive and then whatever words and feelings motivates you to smile and engage every second of the day to come.
Phil Dyer says
January 20, 2013 at 10:37 amGreat post, Sue…
I really like what Donna and Jeff had to say as well…I was thinking very much along the same lines.
The truth is that very few people in the US have any idea what real monetary poverty is. Many of our “poor” live like kings with regards to material possessions compared to many across the globe. That said, I also think that many of us DO suffer from spiritual poverty.
To often, we focus on what we don’t have – instead of being grateful for what we do have – creating a painful cycle of want, envy, and judgement.
I made a conscious decision a long time ago not to let my personal economy be controlled by the national economy.
Thanks for another thought-provoking read!
Phil Dyer
Chief Visionary | Broughton Advisory
http://broughtonadvisory.com/
Kammie says
January 19, 2013 at 8:30 pmThis comes up all the time!!! Thank you for addressing it, I couldn’t agree more. It’s actually in the “struggle” that true leaders find “growth.” Blaming anything other than your lack of creative thinking about your own future is a total cop-out. But, you have to have the mindset to really see and get that… Thank you for posting this short, though provoking post. Fun stuff.
Sue Painter says
January 19, 2013 at 8:43 pmYou’re welcome, Kammie.
Sue
Tiffany deSilva says
January 19, 2013 at 2:56 pmI totally agree, Sue. Your happiness with your spiritual life, or any other aspect of your life, has nothing to do with the economy or other outside forces. Choosing to be happy and doing the things that fulfill you is the key to living with meaning and purpose. We have so much more power than we give ourselves credit for.
Sue Painter says
January 19, 2013 at 8:44 pmTiffany,
I so agree about the power we have, we lose the feel for it sometimes, but it is there. We have always to keep tapping into it.
Sue
The Greenlight Coach says
January 18, 2013 at 2:51 pmYou’re absolutely right Sue, money doesn’t by happiness… or spirituality. It’s easy to blame the “bad economy” but let’s face it. If the economy were good, people who are struggling would find something else to blame. Hence your great advice… it’s all about how you react to your circumstances. I hope whoever wrote you the question can shift his/her reaction to the circumstances and recognize that it’s important to find good in every day, because one day this will pass and looking back from a better place, he or she will realize that time wasted on feeling bad about a bad economy could’ve been spent doing things that don’t cost anything and could have brought fulfillment and joy.
Sue Painter says
January 18, 2013 at 3:57 pmJessica,
You’re right, money doesn’t buy spirituality. Some else said “mutually exclusive” in their reply and really, that is the case. Think about all the cave-dwellers who live spiritually blissful and have literally nothing.
Sue
Doreen Rainey says
January 18, 2013 at 10:46 amSuch a great answer to this question – your spiritual life is not dependent on outside circumstances, situations or what’s happening around you. It’s having a grounding in joy, peace and contentment and being open to getting the answers you need to navigate through all areas of you life.
Stay RADICAL,
Doreen
Katherine C. H. E. says
January 18, 2013 at 7:48 amSuch a great issue to spotlight, Sue! It is the very essence of being True Rich that it is not about the money. The money is irrelevant to meaning or richness or spirituality. Money just amplifies whatever is there already.
And, I agree — we each live our our own belief system. If you want to change your circumstances, start looking at what you believe. Question each thing: why do I believe this? You may decide you want to shift a few of your beliefs. Beliefs come simple from habits of thought; so, all you need to do to create a new belief is create a new habit of thought.
Love and light and success,
Katherine
Katherine C. H. E.
Author, BeTrueRich
http://www.BeTrueRich.com
Sheila Wagner, PT, CN says
January 18, 2013 at 1:29 amGood points here Sue…..to me, the economy and one’s spiritual life are mutually exclusive. Whether life is going well and all your desires are coming true or nothing seems to be right and you are dealt some blows, why would one’s spiritual life be any different?
Heidi Alexandra Pollard says
January 16, 2013 at 7:12 pmInteresting, thought provoking post this week Sue.
I agree that at times we all fall victim to having a mentality of blame, excuses, denial and that life is tough.
We could all benefit from spending 5 minutes a day recognising all we have and all we contribute to the world by being our unique selves. Keeping our ground is indeed the key thing for business or any other part of life.
Donna Gunter says
January 16, 2013 at 6:03 pmSue, I think that the “bad economy” is the whipping boy for whatever isn’t working for people, whether it’s inability to find a job, start a business, send a kid to college…you get the point. It’s just a great excuse to not have to do any real work or real digging to discover the “true” source of an issue.
Sue Painter says
January 16, 2013 at 6:08 pmDonna,
Totally agree!
Bill Painter says
January 16, 2013 at 12:34 pmThe short nswer is the same as “How do you maintain a meaningful spititual life in a great economy?” Seriously it is asyou say “Intention, openness, gratitude and lack of fear”.
Mary Ellen Miller says
January 14, 2013 at 10:40 pmSue, it’s interesting but the “bad economy” caused me to start a daily half hour morning prayer time several years back. Now I wouldn’t trade my quiet time with God each day for anything!
Jeff Madsen says
January 25, 2012 at 8:12 amKeeping perspective helps me. I don’t mean to make light of others difficulty, which for some has been very real over the past few years. I’ve heard it said that if we have a household income of just $25,000 per year we are in the top 10% in the world! Those of us in the U.S./Western World have been so blessed! Hard times or not, we have access to opportunity and personal fulfillment that most others can only dream about. Realizing this helps me when I see we’re having a flat sales month or a particular direct mail piece didn’t work the way I thought it would, etc. Keeping perspective helps me to tie up my shoes and head out the door to try something new!
Sue Painter says
January 25, 2012 at 8:39 amHi Jeff,
I don’t mean to make light of difficulty, either. We have real challenges to face in our country and in the world. Your mindset is exactly what I am talking about – you have the mindset of gratitude for what you have. Perspective is everything as a business owner, isn’t it?
Sue