© 2016 – Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore newsletter October 2016
by Mario C. Veo
Yes, yes, I know… the correct saying is ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’, and, if you are Buddhist, that’s correct and proper… but, if you’re Taoist, that’s not quite right.
Taoism considers that all Life is about Flow – a spontaneous movement created first by Nature, then by Man(provided that ‘Man’ here represents all that is wise and noble… and not what some politicians would have you blindly accept… but I digress…)
So, Life is Flow, and as it moves it should guide us – gently – to be part of this movement… they say that “if it’s time to work, then work… and if it’s time to rest, then rest.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it…? but here in our wonderful world we are rewarded for doing just the opposite – early bird, work late, 60 hour week, miss your kid’s birthday, and show the boss you’re a team player… and you’ll be rewarded with more money, a promotion, and that coveted corner office with all those nice windows… wow… what a trade-off!
O.K., I’m not trying to dismiss those of you who are deeply invested in working hard… just trying to give you a different(better?) perspective. Here’s the deal – “After all you’ve said and done, what have you gained… and, what did it cost you…?” (I actually met a man who claimed that cheating on his wife made him feel more like a ‘man’… well, I guess that he’s never heard of Karma… but let me reassure you, Karma has heard of him!)
Sorry, I digress… again!
Often we are fooled by society that we should(must) follow the conventional path, that it’s really the only way to ‘succeed’, that to do otherwise is to be ‘weird'(a ‘Hippie’ in my time)… so you bow down and comply… and after 30 plus years of being a good little boy or girl, you take a good look at your Life… and find that, somehow, it’s not all guns and roses, not all Disney World, not all innocent expectations, but more like Truth-or-Dare. If it wasn’t ‘Truth’ and you didn’t ‘Dare’, then Life becomes just this lukewarm, placid, kinda spiceless, bland concoction. Yes, not truly ‘bad’, but not all that it could have been.
So, here’s the deal – if you’re O.K. with the way your Life turned out, then ‘good for you’, you’re one of the few that have managed right(must have been some good-charm Karma from a previous Life)… but, if you think – just a little – that you could have more… then know this clearly – “YES, YOU CAN!“
See, Life is just about Energy… which has a vibration, a resonance that expresses Qualities – positive or negative, they are not ‘good’ or ‘evil’, but simple are. If you know how to change this, well heck, you now can change the world…(well, at least, your world)… all you need is the desire to change… And that leads me to the title of this little story… If at first you don’t succeed…
Mario C. Veo was born in Italy and grew up in Africa, and has been on multiple spiritual pilgrimages to India and other sacred places. From an early age his love for Spirituality and Metaphysics led him to study with great Teachers and Masters from around the world. He is a dedicated Spiritual Practitioner and Counselor, a Healer and Shaman Initiate, a senior T’ai Chi / Chi Gong instructor, a Feng Shui Master… Mario is in private practice in Denver, and teaches and guides Spiritual Seekers on the path of Self-Empowerment and Transformation.
You can reach him at 303.525.7223 /
email PathtoSpirit@gmail.com /
website – www.YourPathtoSpirit.com
Mario is available for personal guidance and consultations on Tuesdays and monthly on the last Sunday at the Shining Lotus™ Bookstore in Denver.
