Musical Chairs

 Most people don’t get it. There’s a good reason for that too: it’s not really something you get.

It’s more about letting go.

Let’s say you go to a proper guru and ask, “How can I manifest everything I want?”

A wise guru, if he’s a good one, would probably want to test how serious you are first.

Once he decides you’re a worthy student, he’d ask you what it is you desire. Let’s say, for this example, you answer: “I want a million dollars.”

“Oh my,” the guru says, “that’s very easy.”

You might feel a rush of excitement. Here’s this patient, wise man who seems to understand how the universe works.

“First,” the guru says, “sit very quietly in a dark room. Be still. Try to think of nothing for 20 minutes. It may help if you focus on your breath, just breathing in and out. Do this daily for a week, and then I’ll tell you what to do next.”

You’re determined now—after all, it’s for a million bucks! You go home and follow the instructions. You return a week later, eager for the next step.

“Did your desire arrive?” the guru asks.

“Well, no,” you reply.

“Ah,” the guru says. “Go do the same thing, but this time, for one hour each day.”

Now this is getting tough. You’re busy, and you barely have time for that. But you try your best. Yet, an hour a day seems almost impossible. Some days, your leg falls asleep; other days, the phone rings. Life gets in the way.

“Did you get your million?” the guru asks again.

“No,” you admit, “I couldn’t make it happen. I’ve been distracted.”

The guru, with a twinkle in his eye, asks, “Would you be satisfied with $500,000 instead?”

“Well,” you say, “that would be okay. Sure.”

The guru, seeing a chance to guide you, responds, “This week, I want you to spend just 30 minutes a day. Sit still, quiet your mind, and focus only on how you’d feel if you had $500,000. Picture your friends as they discover your new wealth. Imagine buying the things you’ve always wanted.”

You try. But 30 minutes still feels like a lot. You’ve heard it all before—try hard to imagine these things. It’s more of the same. Days pass, and it gets harder, but you do your best.

But what the guru is really trying to do is this: he wants you to let go of the desire for money altogether.

Months go by. You start to lose patience with the old man. Finally, you go to him, frustrated, ready to speak your mind.

“Look,” you say, “you’re a fraud. You’re not a guru. You can’t help me manifest anything. I’m not coming back. I’m done.”

The guru smiles, quietly, maybe even a little knowingly.

“Very well,” he says.

Here’s the truth: desire for wealth is a disease. You may get rich, but you’ll lose your peace in the process. No real guru will ever help you chase that.

The fastest way to achieve everything you want is to start by considering everything you already have as your goal.

We often don’t feel that, but it’s there. Right here. Right now.

Freeze the world where you are. Freeze yourself in this moment. Life is a game of musical chairs. When the music stops, if you find yourself still sitting, you’ve won. It’s this frozen moment. And in this game, you don’t care about the other chairs. Some are cushy, some are rickety. But when you realize the real object of the game, the quality of the chair doesn’t matter.

Sometimes, the music stops during your hardest times—illness, loss, job changes, or the loss of companions. But when the music stops, the important thing isn’t what’s going on around you—it’s simply that you haven’t been eliminated.

Accept the chair you’ve been given and wait for the music to start again.

Look around. Maybe someone else is sitting in the chair you wanted. Accept where you are. The music will start again, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourself in that very chair. Or maybe, you’ll see the other person eliminated. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re still in the game.

So, I hope this shows you: acceptance is the answer. If you haven’t been eliminated, accept the state you’re in. Wait for the music to play again.

And if you’ve been eliminated, well… you wouldn’t be reading this.