Eckhart Tolle argues that what matters is not what you do but the state of consciousness you bring to it. True fulfillment comes from being fully present in each moment, what he calls surrendered action, which integrates your daily tasks with a deeper, transcendent self. A present gardener accomplishes more than a distracted CEO.
Are you present in what you do? If the gardener is present, the CEO of the big company is totally in his or her egoic mind, then the gardener is successful in the art of living and the CEO is not. The most important realization is who or what you are in your essence, so that your identity is no longer derived from your temporary personality or person. It's still there, you honor it, You acknowledge it. You still are able to operate in this world, probably much better than before, without losing yourself in this world, without giving it an absolute importance that it does not have. It's important, but not absolutely important. And so yes, as a human, you may still, you may have goals, things you want to achieve. That's fine. That's how the human dimension works. And whatever you want to achieve, maybe you will achieve it, especially if it's aligned with a deeper purpose of the intelligence, the unconditioned intelligence or consciousness, it's more likely that you will achieve it, but not necessarily. You pursue your goal, giving primary importance to the action you're taking at this moment rather than thinking you need to arrive there to be happy or fulfilled. No, fulfillment is here now. So whatever action you take on the human level, in order not to lose your connectedness with being, you need to be present in every step that you take towards your goal. Don't lose yourself in the goal, which is a just an image in your mind. Give your fullest attention to what you're doing now. Surrendered action, one could say. That's the Bhagavad Gita talks about that, the lovely, wonderful ancient Indian scripture. It says transform your action into meditation, into spiritual practice. Be totally present in the doing. Then whether or not you arrive at your goal is secondary. If you don't, you get your goal, so what? At least you enjoyed each step of the journey, was fulfilling in itself. What doesn't matter whether your life is all ephemeral and fleeting anyway, whether you can move to Los Angeles because you want to be a great actor, but well, most people don't achieve their goal. Does it mean their life is has failed? No, the goal was a little bit absurd to begin with, as many goals are. But perhaps they learned to be present. Perhaps they learned to be present while they were waiting in a restaurant, because most waiters and waitresses in Los Angeles restaurants are actors out of work. So they have a goal, some achieve it, most don't, It's irrelevant. Perhaps they awaken in the restaurant when they put the plate on the customer's table and they put it down. Present. Is there anything else I can do for you? Present. Yes, I'd like a glass of water. Right. Present every step. Awakening happens, act or not becomes irrelevant. So it's fine to have goals as a human, but don't— do what you can in the present moment, give it your best, which means be present in what you do that enhances the power and quality of your doing. Being present in what you do enhances the power and quality of your doing, so you're more likely to achieve your goal. But if you don't, doesn't really matter. There's only the present moment. And so this is the spiritual practice of combining the vertical and the horizontal dimension. So if you are present in what you do, The doing may have a goal, but because you are present in what you do, you don't lose connectedness with the vertical dimension. That's the presence. So you do what you do, but you remain connected with the deep I, the transcendence, the vertical dimension. That is how you bring the two together, because that's your function in life, to learn this lesson. Of embodying this world and the transcendent. You embody the coming together of this world and the divine dimension. And that's your purpose and your function here, no matter what form it takes. Each one of you has certain things to do, and it's fine. As I often say, it doesn't really matter what you do. More important is how you do what you do. How you do what you do refers to the state of consciousness out of which the doing arises. That's what matters. So whether you plant flowers or trees or somewhere in a garden and you do your gardening and you're present with that, or you're sitting in a skyscraper somewhere as the president, CEO of the company, Are you present? That's the same question that determines true success, if you even want to use that term. That determines true success. Are you present in what you do? If the gardener is present, the CEO of the big company is totally in his or her egoic mind, then the gardener is successful in the art of living and the CEO is not. However, it is not inconceivable. I'm not necessarily saying the CEO cannot be. You could even theoretically reverse it. The CEO is present and the gardener is complaining about what he's doing. Doesn't like it, wants to get to the end of it already. But so it doesn't really matter what you do, but how— state of consciousness that's behind the doing. Whether in the eyes of the world what you do is important or not important is the eyes— the world doesn't know anything. Don't allow the world to tell you whether your life is important or not. The world is insane to a large extent. So don't look to the world for confirmation that your life has worth. In many cases, when the world tells you your life is worth, it's the exact opposite. So this is the— your task is, as you go back into this world, your task is to embody the awakening consciousness, to embody the coming together of the horizontal and the vertical, to continue to operate as a human, but don't lose connectedness with the being. And then you are a true human being. And a true human being is able to not be good at what they do because they're present in what they do. A human being that's connected to the being will also emanate in relationships and so on with other humans, close relationships or short-term relationships, you will emanate a sense of, one could say, benevolence or goodwill that comes only from the depths of the deep eye. You emanate a certain benevolence towards other humans. It's sometimes called loving-kindness. There's a term 'metta' used in Buddhism. 'Agape' is the Greek term used in the New Testament. A love, not egoic love, a love that flows from you out to others. Why does it flow? Because it comes from the deep 'I,' and only the deep 'I' in you can recognize the deep 'I' in the other. And that act of recognition is when true love arises, not the clinging love. It could just be a love of a person you meet in an elevator, but there is a brief recognition that the other is more than the personality. If you're not connected to the deep I, there's just two personalities interacting, and very soon there's conflict, and you'll only— the personality only reacts to the other person's personality. So it's the ego, the ego reacts to another ego. And when Jesus said, "Love thy neighbor as yourself," he meant recognize your neighbor as yourself, and then you're able to love your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your neighbor as yourself by being, by recognizing yourself, the deeper self, the deep I. So you cannot practice loving your neighbor as yourself if you haven't found yourself. If you only have the ego self, the ego self can fool itself that it's loving somebody, but it's not loving because the next moment the ego self will hate the other. So that benevolence comes with connectedness to the transcendent dimension. So that is how gradually you change the world. It spreads out from you, spreads out, and that's how, that's your mission, that's your function in this world. So you have a twofold function. You have certain things to do as a person. More importantly, you have to stay connected with the deep 'I,' the transcendent, so that you don't lose connectedness with the One God.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
