Are we making progress?

We live in a world focused on achievement and gain as the main goals of life— assuming that an increase in our possessions and comfort means we’re evolving. But why is our assumed “progressive” world suffering from discontent more than ever before?

I've seen the biggest unhappiness in the most 'successful' people.

What makes these people unhappy? When they reach the peak of their success and material wealth, their inner lack of contentment is often revealed. If we progress externally without expanding our mind to accompany our achievements, we will not know how to enjoy them. Achievements and material progress alone should not be our measure of growth. Today our value system is based on What you Have rather than Who you Are— we have come to revere possessing over Being.

If you can be content with Being, you will be provided with your needs.

The ability to be content, to enjoy life, needs to be cultivated if we want to experience progress. If you can't be content with what you have now, you won't be content with more assets, success, or fame. This doesn't mean that you stop striving to achieve your goals or become fatalistic about life. What it means is that Being in a state of presence and gratitude will attract everything you need. Perhaps not everything you 'expect', but everything you need.

The main obstacle to progress

There are various systems available that train us to be more efficient, focused and skilled to help us achieve our goals faster. Contentment, on the other hand, isn't something we are taught at school. And, where does our lack of contentment come from?

To ensure survival, our mind is sabotaging our attempts to expand and grow.

You go for a stroll on the beach. Fully in the moment a sense of peace expands in you. For how long can you stay in that state, before a thought of, say, worry pulls you out of it?

That’s the nature of the mind. So we need to train it. Because only a trained mind will aid our evolution.

And, unless we marry a meditative awareness with our actions, we will only apparently make progress. 

Ignorance makes us to see light where there is darkness, to see happiness where there is suffering, and to see gain where there is loss. This disorientation in the journey is not only the problem, it is also the alarm, warning us that the time has come to replace our old compass.