All of us have advantages that we’re blessed with. Some of them are obvious, others not so much. It’s our duty to understand and acknowledge all of them. Use your privilege fully in the positive work you’re meant to do in the world!

This episode is about asking ourselves why we struggle when we might not need to. Instead we can lean into our privileges and create beauty and meaning in this world with ease, and grace.

Listen on the embedded player below, or on your preferred podcast player. If reading is your jam, then scroll down for the transcript. Enjoy! 🙂

“Being simple, being ordinary, these things have a lot of power, a lot of weight-age. So it’s okay if you have the privilege to embrace that. To not be too big, to live a simple, ordinary, easygoing life. If you can do that, why shouldn’t you?”

Susmitha Veganosaurus – The Feel Good Factor Podcast

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Transcript: Recognise and use your privileges for the highest good

(gently edited for a better reading experience)

Today I wanted to talk about recognising privileges and using them for higher good. Now what is a privilege? It’s an advantage of any kind that you have, which everyone else might not have.

It could be something small and simple, something that has been given to you, something that you were born with. Or it could be things that happen to you because of your family, the world around you.

Every human being has some kind of privilege, and of course the opposite also. There are some advantages and some disadvantages in our lives. And depending on where you’re born, your circumstances, and how you see it, of course, some people have many, many more advantages, many, many more privileges than others.

First of all, we need to recognise these privileges

To understand that, “yes, I have these privileges. I’m privileged in this particular way, or all these particular ways.” It’s very important to recognise them and acknowledge them.

A lot of people don’t want to because of some kind of guilt, maybe because of fear that if you recognise your privilege, you might lose it. There are so many political reasons for this too, where people don’t want to say that, “yes, I have all these privileges.”

Keeping that aside, even if you do want to acknowledge your privileges, often there are privileges that are obvious, and then there are those which are not so obvious.

Not only is it important to say that, “okay, these are the privileges I have, and I acknowledge them”, but also to dig a little deeper and see what are the things in your life which don’t on the surface look like a privilege, but actually they are.

For example, the obvious one: being well off enough to not be too stressed about where is my next meal coming from, you know, “where am I going to live?” All these basic necessities taken completely care of, and having a secure feeling about your life and your future.

That’s a privilege that not everybody has, so it’s a pretty obvious one to recognise

Or say, having a good education. Your parents, or your parental figures, guardians, they’ve sent you to a good school so that you’re able to study well, have special attention from teachers who have encouraged you, and nurtured you to grow into a certain person. And not only that, you’ve been able to, when you need it, to study. You’ve been able to do that comfortably at home, right?

That is also a pretty obvious privilege, but there are the not so obvious ones. For example, if someone doesn’t want to get married. The fact that they can say, “I don’t want to get married”, and they have the choice to do that, to be able to stand up for themselves, break the social norms and say that, “yeah, I’m pretty happy being single and living my own life”.

To be able to do that without having too much pressure from all sides, or without having to fight very hard for it, that’s a privilege

Not everybody has that privilege. And what happens is, the person who chooses to be single can recognise that if others are married around them, it could be because they had to succumb to social pressures, and they couldn’t necessarily say, “No, I don’t want to be married.”

And when they look at it from that point of view, then when society judges them, when married people judge them for being single, instead of getting upset about it, they say, “You know what? Poor things, they didn’t even know otherwise”, right? They were told that this is the way to live, and that lack of exposure is why they’re judging me.

So that recognition of your privilege in any situation, helps you handle different kinds of people, different kinds of situations that arise.

Another not so obvious privilege… Often I see a lot of couples around me struggling to have children. You know, it seems unfair, right? Because there’s so many people who can easily have kids, but so many who can’t. And they feel pressured, they feel sad, they struggle, and they try very hard. They go through all these procedures just so they can have babies.

When you’re in the position of that person, it helps to look at this situation as an opportunity

Okay, so you can’t have babies, and for whatever reason you’re not able to adopt, then maybe you are meant to do something else in your life. You’re meant to do a different kind of work.

You’re not meant to be taking care of two children, you’re meant to use your nurturing nature to take care of a much wider number of people, in order to do other kinds of work in the world.

When you switch your way of thinking, from looking at a situation as unfair to looking at it as a privilege, then you start seeing the advantages in it

For example, there are parents who don’t have time, like zero time because they’re taking care of their young children. And they have to worry a lot about saving a lot of money for the future, for the education of these children. There are all these things.

So as rewarding and as wonderful as it is to have a child, perhaps not having any children also has its own advantages? Because you have a lot more time freedom, you’re able to be a lot more flexible with your life.

If you need, you can pick up and travel somewhere. Whether it’s on work, or to go on a trip, or whatever it is, you know, you have that kind of freedom. And you don’t have to worry that much about earning and saving, because you’re only earning for maybe yourself and your partner, and your future. Not for the education and future of your children.

So it’s just a simple way of switching your outlook, and taking whatever situation you have, and thinking of it as a privilege. Ot looking at it with curiosity and saying, “okay, so this is happening, and it may seem unfair, but what are the advantages for me here? Because it’s happening anyway, I’m accepting it. So now how can I make use of this for my highest good?”

Recognising privileges which are obvious, which are hidden… that really helps to give you a certain comfortable perspective on life

And yeah, I know people are struggling on a day to day basis, and there are lots of troubles that they go through. And it’s not so easy to say, “think positive.” I’m not being dismissive of anybody’s problems here. All I’m saying is that even in a difficulty, there may be a gem hidden there.

The moment you accept anything that may seem difficult, you might see that there are certain things that you can use for higher good, you know, for the benefit of the whole world.

Uplifting the world’s energy, for making this world a better place, for doing greater work. You know, the work that the universe, the divine has meant you to do with whatever privilege, whatever advantage you have.

Now, some people may call some of these unfair. But I won’t say it’s all unfair. Because you have been given certain things, whether they look like advantages or not, you’ve been given certain things, put in certain situations, because there is certain work that you’re meant to do. Some things that you need to be creating and putting out into this world, for the higher good of all.

You may not be able to see it right now, but you’re meant to do certain things, therefore, you’re put in a certain place and you’ve been given that certain advantage

Advantage is unfair only if you use it for not-good. To oppress somebody, to only, you know, just just dwindle it away, waste it away.

Like in my example of somebody who doesn’t have children, I said they have a lot of time freedom. Now, either they can use that time to create something beautiful in the world, or to educate themselves, to spiritually grow, to be kind to others, do some kind of meaningful work, maybe even run a conscious business, whatever, right? They could do all of that.

Or they could just sit at home and watch TV all day, and then just waste away their life. So it’s up to you how you use this advantage, this privilege that you have. And depending on how you use it, you could call it fair or unfair.

As long as you’re using whatever advantage you’ve been given, whatever privilege you have for higher good, for creating something beautiful and meaningful, then it’s not unfair at all.

It is what you’re meant to have, because this is what you’re meant to do in life

This is the beauty, this is the positivity that you’re meant to create in life. Now having recognised and acknowledged and realised that we need to do something good with it, the next step is to actually use the privilege to its utmost benefit, you know, take all out of it to support you in the good work that you’re doing.

This is where comparison needs to be cut out. We look at people around us. The way they’re living their lives, the things that they’re doing with their lives, the things that they own, they buy, the things that they’re studying, or career in which they’re growing, whatever it is, we’re looking at all these things.

And then we believe that this is what my life also has to be, this is what I also have to have, and that’s not right at all

You are meant to have certain things, so use only those things. Don’t try to look for what others have and try to get it, try to aim for that.

Your goals, your aims, your desires, keep them in alignment with what you have been given, the things that you have been blessed with, you know, the talents, the skills, the support systems, whatever it is, every single thing.

Take complete advantage of it to go towards the goal of doing the higher work of the Universe, what you’re meant to do. And you know what you’re meant to do because you will feel it.

When there is a certain path you need to take, or certain activity you need to involve yourself in, a certain project that you need to start, whatever it is, when you think you want to do it, you will feel this sense of expansion.

There’s this deep feeling of, “yeah, this is meant to be, I am supported”

And yes, sometimes the mind will create all these fears and doubts in your head, but you will feel “it”. That feeling, lean into it. And the more you lean into it, the easier it is for you to feel it, you’ll be able to recognise it more and more and more. So go with that. That gut feeling, that energetic feeling, trust it.

So what it comes down to… it’s about being in ease and flow through your life. To live as frictionless a life as you can. Without going in search of drama and difficulties just because that’s what the world is saying is desirable.

If you start a conscious business, for example, this is the support you had, this is what you’ve been given. So then work within those boundaries, and take advantage of those boundaries.

If the business isn’t growing very fast and very big, then you’re possibly not meant to be that ambitious

Maybe you’re supposed to focus on keeping it small, but creating a positive energy and a meaningful impact even in a small scale, because it matters, it signifies.

I see a lot of conscious business owners who struggle more than they should be. They struggle more, they work harder, they keep thinking, “Oh I want something bigger. I want something more. I want this in my life. I want to put it into the whole world!”

And it’s understandable because, you’re passionate about it especially when you’re running a purpose filled business, purpose filled venture, brand, whatever you’ve created. It’s understandable that you want the whole world to see it. You want it to go far and wide.

It’s just that, if it’s not meant to go far and wide, trust that it is going to the targeted audience that it’s meant to go to, and don’t struggle.

Don’t push yourself so hard working day and night, and pouring all of yourself into it, because you’re not meant to be doing that

I see this especially in people who are financially supported. They don’t necessarily need to earn a living by running their business. Their business is being run for the sake of running the business, and creating certain impacts in the world, to support certain movements. But even if the business isn’t growing, isn’t becoming huge as they want it to be, it’s okay, they will still continue to survive.

What is your advantage there? Your advantage there is that you have a support system, you have a backing, you have whatever it is in place to take care of you, to give you financial freedom, to give you time freedom, all of it. When all of it is present, why’re you pushing yourself too much? You don’t need to do it.

Yes, there are some people who will need to do it, whose very survival depends on the business that they’re running. Don’t look at them, don’t compare yourself to them. Don’t have those kinds of expectations.

Instead, embrace gentle growth

Embrace your time freedom, embrace going slowly forward and creating meaning and beauty in this world in a small scale. It’s okay.

Don’t compare your success with somebody else’s success because the definition of success differs from person to person, situation to situation. Don’t subscribe to a hustle culture or social norms, and then desire and want something which will only create more complications for you, and more difficulties for you.

Being simple, being ordinary, these things have a lot of power, a lot of weight-age

So it’s okay if you have the privilege to embrace that. To not be too big, to live a simple, ordinary, easygoing life. If you can do that, why shouldn’t you?

And then when you bring yourself to that energy of embracing that… “okay, you know what, I can live a gentle, easygoing, ordinary life. I don’t need to prescribe to these social norms and have this kind of a family, this kind of a house, and this kind of a car. Because honestly, these are not what I desire for myself but because others have it.”

Right? Recognising that, understanding that, when you do that, then your energy shifts into one of ease and grace.

And when you’re in a position of ease and grace, and not struggling and desperation, then you become a magnet for the highest good

Whatever is for your highest good will come to you. Paths get cleared. Because you’re making it easy for yourself, you’re putting the message out into the universe that, “Yes, this is what I want. I want ease, grace, peace, as I move ahead and do your work. I channel the universe’s energy, and create beauty and meaning in this world. And while I do that, I want it to be easy. I want it to be frictionless.” You put the message out there, that’s what you’re gonna get.

So all I wanted to say today is, give yourself permission

Once you’ve understood your privileges, recognised the hidden ones, the obvious ones, and you’ve acknowledged them, make full and complete use of them. Take complete advantage of them to support you for your highest good.

Don’t think you’re expected to do some things that you don’t really want to do. And don’t desire things that you’re not really meant to have. That’s not the kind of life you need to live.

You need to live this life that’s been given to you. But with ease and grace without struggle and desperation.

Use those advantages for the highest good

What best can you do? How beautiful can you make the world around you? How can you light up the life of everybody you touch? How can you be a kinder, more loving person? Because of embracing this privilege, because of saying, “alright, I have all this, I have this support system in place. So I’m going to relax now, and go with ease go with the flow.”

This is all I wanted to share today. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. And I guess today the time came for it to be put out there into the world.

I hope this message makes you contemplate, go a little deeper, and embrace your true self, your true desires, your true nature, and whatever you’re meant to do in this world. You know, understand it and just lean into it.

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Transcribed using Otter