I was born with a bit of a philosopher's soul. Sometimes this is a good thing, other times it is a liability. When I have time to channel it in a positive way, I use yoga, meditation, and running to find calm and make sense of my world. When I allow my instincts and explorations to take a wrong turn, I turn into analytical crazy person. I still go running, but here is where I end up:
How will I parent my spirited child without having a nervous breakdown? Will I have enough enrollments to fill my Kindermusik classes? Why can't I do handstand for more then 4 seconds? What preschool should Liam attend? What is the perfect backsplash for our (still) unfinished kitchen? Will I ever have my pre-Liam figure back? How can I cut back on processed soy? Should we get a new puppy? Boxing or Step class? Can I give myself the perfect home pedicure? How can I increase my running time? Should I even try to increase my running time? How can I save money on our grocery bill? Should I go back to work? Do the kids need to be in private school? Should I open a bagel shop? Where should we go on our next family vacation?
And so it goes, on and on and on.......maybe you can relate.
This past winter I picked up Mark Nepo's "The Book of Awakening" from one of my favorite places on the planet, Source Yoga. The tag line for the book is "Having the life that you want by being present to the life you have". Sounds good, right? It is. It also sounds a little new agey and Buddhist inspired. If you too are trying to embrace non-judgement - shame on you for thinking so. And then, shame on me for judging your judgement.
What I love about this book, outside of the inspired writing and insight, is the format. It is broken up into short 1/2 - 2 page passages. The readings are meant to be used to provoke daily contemplation and meditation. I can read them while the kids are finishing up breakfast and it gives me something to think on while I clean the dishes afterwards. On a good day, I carry it through my day. Yesterday was such a day.
Having gotten off track and missed many days of reading (okay months), I stumbled on a passage today that stayed with me from breakfast to bedtime. The general message was that we too often hold ourselves back by clinging to something that doesn't serve us. Be it a relationship, a dream or a perception, these attachments often bring grief and paralyze growth. How much time do we waste clinging to something that doesn't serve us? As you can see from the clutter above, I waste quite a bit. This is not new information to me, I have taken a step back to look at this many a time. Sometimes, having the same information presented in a different light makes all the difference. If you could use some help in de-cluttering your head, check it out.
What things do you spend to much time analyzing? What do you do to clear out and keep yourself sane.
Avoidance of clinging is the essence of Buddhism; it sounds simple but is almost impossible to achieve. I hope you have better luck with it than I do.
ReplyDelete