Through Surrender
The word enthusiasm comes from ancient Greek–en and theos meaning God. And the related word enthousiazein means “to be possessed by a god.” With enthusiasm, you will find that you don’t have to do it all by yourself. In fact, there is nothing of significance that you can do by yourself. Sustained enthusiasm brings into existence a wave of creative energy, and all you have to do then is ‘ride the wave.’ Enthusiasm brings an enormous empowerment into what you do, so that all those who have not accessed that power would look upon your achievements in awe and may equate them with who you are. You, however, know the truth that Jesus pointed to when he said, “I can of my own self do nothing.” Unlike egoic wanting, which creates opposition in direct proportion to the intensity of its wanting, enthusiasm never opposes. It is non-confrontational.
Sustained enthusiasm brings into existence a wave of creative energy.
Its activity does not create winners and losers. It is based on inclusion, not exclusion, of others. It does not need to use and manipulate people because it is the power of creation itself, and so does not need to take energy from some secondary source. The ego’s wanting always tries to take from something or someone; enthusiasm gives out of its own abundance. When enthusiasm encounters obstacles in the form of adverse situations or uncooperative people, it never attacks but walks around them, or by yielding or embracing, turns the opposing energy into a helpful one; the foe into a friend. Enthusiasm and the ego cannot coexist. One implies the absence of the other. Enthusiasm knows where it is going, but at the same time, it is deeply at one with the present moment; the source of its aliveness, its joy, and its power. Enthusiasm ‘wants’ nothing because it lacks nothing. It is at one with life and, no matter how dynamic the enthusiasm inspired activities are, you don’t lose yourself in them. And there remains always a still, but intensely alive, space at the center of the wheel; a core of peace in the midst of activity that is both the source of all and untouched by it all.
Through enthusiasm, you enter into full alignment with the outgoing creative principle of the universe, but without identifying with its creation; that is to say, without ego. Where there is no identification, there is no attachment–one of the great sources of suffering. Once a wave of creative energy has passed, structural tension diminishes again and joy in what you are doing remains. Nobody can live in enthusiasm all the time. A new wave of creative energy may come later and lead to renewed enthusiasm. When the return movement toward the dissolution of form sets in, enthusiasm no longer serves you. Enthusiasm belongs to the outgoing cycle of life. It is only through surrender that you can align yourself with the return movement–the journey home.
