This is the Ef Zin insight on Ideals that you practice and experience in the program “How to Energize Your Ideals“.

More often than not, the word “reality” carries a negative tone. Reality is a cold stark truth; filled with hardship, disappointment, and unfulfilled potential. And although we are intrinsically lead by our ideas and hopes for something better, we are taught to adopt a “realistic” perspective of life. We become skeptic of dreams and a vision for the future and even more so of ideals. How are we to find inspiration when we feel the starkness of reality so deeply? How do we find what drives us forward? Ignites our purpose? Gives us the energy we need to create a meaningful life?

We tend to draw a line between realism and idealism when, in actuality, they are one. Whilst reality may describe our material experience of life, it is our immaterial ideals that give it direction and purpose. Together, the material and immaterial feed one another, propelling each other forward; creating meaning in the process. We practice principles in our actions, we develop values with our behaviors and we build ideas through our experiences. These ideals, in return, help us create a reality of value. They become our source of energy (energia, “ενέργεια”) for movement and positive change. In the way honor encourages you to take ownership of your mistakes or true love empowers you in the face of hardship and human connection makes the darkest place feel infinitely bright. Recognize these ideals between the threads of your reality, and choose to energize them in your everyday.