Hard sometimes, right?
It is a goal I have and that is quite –pardon me– present in our society. Be present. Thinking about this obviously makes me think about Zen and what little I learnt about it back in the day. That “fragmented knowledge” often swipes me when I experience something like a breakthrough.
If you are into growing, into achieving, into advancing, into self-improvement… You are always focused on the future. You are not here experiencing this moment, only a small part of you is. However, it is typically, in your mind, a sacrifice for a good reason.
But, in fact, you already are that person who achieves those things. You are the person who does those things, the one who does the work and succeeds. The one who experiences joy every day.
So, that’s something I keep going back to. And then, there’s something else.
In the day to day, we go through situations (and thoughts) that shake us. My experience, as yours, probably, is that I cannot control what I feel – and I shouldn’t. But I can regulate my emotions.
I learnt that to do that I can resort to different strategies: distract myself, rationalise, compartmentalise, talk it out, sit on it and meditate, etc. Specially important is to reframe the inner talk, to recognise that feelings are more of a reaction to my thoughts about something than the actual thing.
There’s a great key aspect that results from understanding how this works. Human beings like to make sense of things and find meaning. This does not only apply to the world at large or to our small lives, but also to our inner world and to how this one connects to the outer one. I ascribe meaning to feelings. I realise now that while I do not choose my feelings, I am the one who chooses what they mean.
That’s all for today. Apologies for my monkey mind.
Don’t lose your head and…
Stay colourful!
xoxo