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| The Human Condition, wow what a ride of joy and terror and everything in between! |
| Life; it’s one giant roller coaster ride! Can you relate? I am sure you can. It’s like jumping into that roller coaster for the first time, not quite knowing what to expect. We laugh, we delight, we cry, scream and maybe even beg to get off before it ends! I love the song by boy band FIVE! Keep on Movin! ……here are a few versus to jog your memory 😀 I woke up today with this feelin’ That better things are comin’ my way And if the sunshine has a meaning Tellin’ me not to let things get in my way When the rainy days are dyin’ Gotta keep on, keep on tryin’ All the bees and birds are flyin’ (ah) Never let go, gotta hold on and Non stop ’til the break of dawn and Keep movin’, don’t stop rockin’ (ah) Get on up when you’re down Baby, take a good look around I know it’s not much, but it’s okay We’ll keep on movin’ on anyway ……. if you don’t know it, you get the drift! Maybe have a listen. It’s a catchy tune with great lyrics that can lift the spirits 🎶💓 The Human Condition. Let’s face it. Life is not always easy! We will experience one challenge after another. While the bottom line is that EVERY SINGLE PERSON will experience pain throughout their life time, I want to take a moment here to differentiate between physical pain and mental suffering. Our head space has everything to do with how we experience our existence! Physical pains are associated with sickness, injury, aging, loss and emotional pain too. Mental pain is indeed suffering which comes from our own thoughts and stories. Our personal worry, fear, resistance, blaming, judging and criticism. OUCH, this in itself can be a painful truth to process!Antient wisdom has plenty to teach us about this. Buddha’s pointer…..👉 Buddha has a teaching about two arrows which, paraphrased by me goes like this: “When you get shot with an arrow, it’s going to hurt like hell for a time (the physical pain), but the arrow will pass through the body and the wound will heal. But when you grab at the arrow, it’s like stabbing yourself over and over again (the mental suffering).” I love the imagery in this teaching and how it points to our own super powers. Creating our own suffering 😩🧠 Did you know that our moment to moment decision to choose love over fear directly relates to how we experience our life? Knowing this is empowering and is an invitation to choose a response to our circumstances! By nature we play the same thoughts in our heads over and over again, and most of these are negative. If we let this pattern run on autopilot, we are unknowingly adding insult to injury. What looping patterns of thinking lurk in your mind? Do any of these ring a bell? If only I’d have done……….. / if only they’d have done……….. They must hate me…../ I am so stupid I always get treated this way…….. Why did he say that…….. Nothing ever changes……….. .How could I have………/ how could they have……… I always do this……etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Freedom from suffering starts with bravery, and accepting the truth of WHAT IS in the moment and that includes our thought patterns. It’s a journey for us all which can become our intentional life’s work! We can build a practice of welcoming our pain, rather than resisting it. We can learn to let the arrows go through, so to speak! We can bravely do this work, knowing that indeed, the truth will set us free. Life as a teacher Whatever you are going through right now is giving you opportunity to learn more about yourself and others and is an invitation to deepen into compassion and wholeness. There is always stuff going on, easy or tough, big or small, it doesn’t matter. Every day brings opportunity for growth. For me personally, this most recent patch of my life has felt particularly difficult. A lot has gone on. I am also planning a dream come true, trip of a life time to India 😀, which in itself feels like roller coaster ride. I turned 60 this year, received a wedding invite to India and decided to JUST DO IT! I haven’t left Australia for several decades and certainly never travelled alone, yet here I am booking flights and accommodation for a solo trip. A pilgrimage, which has already begun. I have been so excited, and I have cried, screamed, and even considered getting off the ride…..but here I am, all booked to fly out in August. This period is teaching me so much about myself. In stepping way out of my comfort zone, my patterns of being have been amplified and my anxiety levels have, at times sky rocketed. Yet here I am. My dad got really sick. My dear father- in-law suddenly died last week. The emotional pains I have experienced have been excruciating. Yet here I am. Through it all, here I am. Through all of your experiences, here you are too! Harnessing the mind for joy 🌻Life is going to continue to unfold for each one of us until we take our final breath. Let’s keep weaving into our lives, that which supports our wellness. We can learn to take responsibility for our choices, be proactive and welcome all that comes across our path. Each day can be seen as an invitation to live life fully, investing time and energy into our own expansion, knowing that our very being makes a difference that ripples out beyond our own existence. Be the change you wish to see in the world! |
