...I have been wanting to write about this for a while... years.
You know when you feel ‘off.’ You try to shake it....
Feeling ‘off’ physically, mentally, emotionally or environmentally is normal.
Life happens in ebbs and flows, and when the going gets tough, what you do, may just make or break your health...
I cry, talk, get it all out- but keep a mind ready for action. The magic comes from accepting what IS , but being solution oriented.
Karma, the natural wheel of cause and effect, will bring good and bad experiences in one's life.
When things are bumpy, it is beneficial to have key ways of approaching and thinking about the situations...
Firstly, be grateful that karma is getting exhausted. Keep your head above the waves of life, and see that ‘this too shall pass.’ Secondly, things in life happen for you, not to you, see your experience of difficulty as a part of the divines will, for deeper lessons to be gained. And thirdly,
Take your experience as a warning to be more careful in the future. What is done, is done- you can control your reaction and how you act in the future.
Life will throw things at you, but how you receive it- is up to you.
I often talk to clients or our yoga students about how the world communicates with you, to usher your progress along. First you will get subtle feelings, then whispers, then it gets louder. Progressively if one still does not listen then a solid experience happens around you with hopes to inspire inner contemplation, and then something like a ‘Slap’ happens to you. If you still do not heed the slap, then the world will increase the risk- heighten it until you listen.
Heed the whisper stage. Getting in touch with the subtle feelings. Take action when you feel a bit off, this is like adjusting your regimen to prevent you from getting sick- this is working preventatively. You can do this for your emotional and mental state as well.
Don’t you want to work preventively on your psychosomatic state so you can live with more ‘Flow’ than the ‘Ebb.’
Merely crying won’t make a cut heal faster, you have to take proper action to support your body's natural healing function.
Accept and take proper action.
For example, say a doctor gives you a diagnosis. Thankfully you now have been given a clinical name to your pathogenesis, and now have the responsibility to take action. But still some do not. Caught up in our ways of doing things, we just instead sulk, cry, and give up on life and ourselves.
Our attachments to living life a certain way runs deep, even giving someone a death sentence will still not inspire change.
Sometimes when working with diabetic clients, they are not interesting in dietary restrictions, herbs and exercise. Instead, when I talk about the money they will save in the long run, then I get their attention. Why so? Have we been trained to only value something if it means more money in our pocket? Do we value money over our lives? Is this the culture we live in?
Things will happen, the body, mind and world around you will change and give you challenges. No one said that developing inner strength and fortitude would be without the trails to inspire it.
To stop beating around the bush, it has become clear to me that western society does not impart healthy coping methods. We each have to find them ourselves. Life is not easy, but it can be lived joyfully. Many ancient and indigenous cultures still have healthy coping methods imbedded in their cultural ways and imparted by the elders. As we grow up, we are watching those around us, getting clues and cues as to how to navigate the world and navigate ourselves. If the western cultural model supports medication over meditation, escapism and addiction over openness and authenticity- how would anyone growing up today find ways to not fall into a substance trap or become another number in a society of addicts.
We may have a society built on using machines to keep you alive, but have we figured out how to live?
I would casually say in college days that the western society does not gratify, glamorize or support one to truly ‘know themselves.’ Or just even be remotely secure. Just think…
The whole country of capitalism and materialism would crumble if people felt satisfied within there own skin, felt a deeper sense of self and self worth other than letting their appearance, their professional titles or their money dictate their sense of accomplishment.
I say, living a life of morals, ethics, discipline, love, giving, and peace, not being addicted to any substance or person- is a massive accomplishment. I say thats a life well done.
Can you think of anyone you know who exemplifies this?
Some use technology to help them cope. But being constantly bombarded- sensory overload- by tech, can compound the problem. There are actual detoxification facilities, like that for drug addicts, for those addicted to technology. Do you feel better about yourself after a session on facebook/instagram etc.? Do you like the person you are when you access these platforms? Do you like the person you are once you leave a session on these platforms? All this feeds the dialogue ‘ you are not enough, look at this’ ‘you do not have enough, look at this,’ etc etc. There may be instant gratification, but at what cost ? The dialogue of not having or being enough, will only promote more instability and increase the likelihood of developing unhealthy coping methods.
The way you cope, is a measurement of your emotional maturity.
Follow the trail of breadcrumbs to find what in your life you are trying to cope with, what things you do or people you are around that you have to cope with afterwards. Maybe start with removing the toxicity- the people, the substances, the environments. Love yourself enough to do this. Then look to letting it out, cry, talk, write- something other than escapism via technology or substance.
We are born and left to find ways to make sense of life and the world around us... the inner journey of self discovery can at least be one where some inner peace can start to grow. The ideas of karma no longer seem far fetched. You start living a life of gratitude... and maybe thinking that there is something as being 'aligned.'
We had a client recently tell us that they got stuck in traffic. A 'Stand still' for 26 minutes.
And guess what?
He didn't mind. The pause gave him time to see life, be grateful for LIFE.
Blessings,
A Z TRIBE
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