Five Simple Questions

In my readings, I came across five simple but profound questions that have the power to shift our awareness, open our hearts, and bring us into deeper alignment with what truly matters.

1. If money and status were no object, what would I do?

2. If I were less afraid of other people's opinions, what would I say?

3. What actually makes me happy? (Does success make me happy? What's my definition of success? What's my definition of success if money was taken out of the equation?)

4. What are the things that I'm hiding from myself?

5. What are the emotions that I am unprepared to feel?

Each of these questions requires real courage to answer honestly. These questions invite us to look past the noise of our daily lives — the expectations, the fears, the conditioned ideas of success — and into the raw, unfiltered truth of our hearts.

Sean Fargo, a former Buddhist monk, remembers when he was in a rural Thai monastery. He wanted to teach mindfulness, but was paralyzed by the thoughts: What if I’m not good enough? What if I don’t have the right words? What will people think?

It wasn’t until he sat with these fears — truly sat with them, without running away — that he saw how much of the inner world was shaped by the invisible weight of others’ opinions. Once he acknowledged that weight, he could begin to set it down.

So I invite you to take a moment — maybe right now, maybe later today — and sit with these five questions. Not to rush through them, not to get the "right" answers, but to simply notice what arises.

Here are a few ways to explore them:

• Journaling: Write the question at the top of the page and let yourself respond freely, without judgment.

• Meditation: Bring the question into your practice, letting it rest in your awareness without forcing an answer.

• Conversation: Share these questions with someone you trust. Sometimes speaking our truth aloud brings clarity.

These are not easy questions. They may stir up discomfort. But they also hold the key to a deeper, more authentic, and more present way of living. To quote Sarah Ban Breathnach, “The authentic self is the soul made visible.”

Namaste,

Hazel Bowman, RScP