The dictionaries define enlightenment as “the act or means of being free from ignorance and misinformation.” What the dictionaries fail to mention is the often-challenging road to enlightenment.
Often, enlightenment does not happen in one setting, like in a class. Enlightenment is a deeper, more complex process that takes more time and more effort. It takes more investment on our part to reach an enlightened level. We’ve all had aha moments, those moments when an imaginary light bulb lights up and things suddenly make sense in the world. Those aha moments do not happen just because. More often than not, they happen once we’ve been tried and tested by circumstances.
However, there is a huge advantage to the modern times we know today. There are now many resources that can help a person on his or her way to enlightenment. There are books, there are podcasts, there are online courses, and there are lots of opportunities for development.
For example, in any given city, it is almost always guaranteed that there are short courses for meditation to try out. Short, face-to-face courses allow us to meet new people, develop our interpersonal skills, and learn new things from others. There are also hundreds of life and work coaches who are there to help. These are people who are experts in their fields, and for a fee, they are available to help those who are in need. In short, we have access to more sources of information for our enlightenment. There are many ways to work toward one’s enlightenment. The universe will always provide for ways to help, but there’s a catch: enlightenment, in whatever aspect—love, personal development, finances—is personal. It has to happen to you so that it will affect your life and your way of living.
Many enlightened people write about their journey, but reading them does not mean anything if it will not affect us personally, move us, or connect the dots so we too become enlightened. There has to be that aha moment so that the “truth” or the “enlightened piece of information” from others will help in our own enlightenment. Otherwise, it is useless to us, until that moment when everything we learned and experienced will make sense.
Here’s hoping all our journeys make sense to us one way or another.
