The Shift:
Finding the mindful life.
Hello, friends!
I am honoured to welcome you to the first of what I know will be many Clarity posts . . .
I would wager that you, just like me, have lived a lifetime of self-promise. You tell yourself every Sunday that "this will be my week", that you are going to take charge of your life, your health, your nutrition and exercise, or stop your nasty little habits, your jealousies, you are going to change the way you talk to the reflection in the mirror, you are going to show compassion to yourself and those around you . . .
But change is hard. This I understand.
We make these promises, but we break these promises (often by Tuesday) far too easily. But, why? Why do we find it so hard to keep these vows to ourselves? Could it be that day after day, week after week, year over year, we instinctively take the same neural pathways, think the same ideas, beliefs and thoughts, not breaking old patterns, just walking mindlessly on the same old roads we have traversed our entire lives? Are we stuck in some kind of universal rut?
But then something can happen! I don't know if it's a crazy cosmic challenge or that you just wake up one day and say, "that's it, I have had enough" and you . . . well . . . You shift!
And like so many other people, it happened to me during a global pandemic.
After a lifetime of ignoring every logical warning in my mind and gut, I was getting sick. Yep, me! The one who had held it altogether for so long was finally being taken hostage by the ravages of high cholesterol, beginnings of heart disease, periodontal disease, irritable bowel (nice!) . . . pretty much all the usual suspects when one smokes for decades, makes unhealthy food choices, puts work over life and allows anxiety to cloud every thought, memory or future plan. I had two choices . . . walk the same well-trodden path I have walked since I was a kid (and this was the easy route) or pony up a whole new version of strength and face my fears straight on.
I walked into the storm with my head held high.
Mindfulness, meditation, whole foods, kindness, compassion, love and reconnection with nature. . . These things changed my life. I made friends with silence and contemplation. I became mindful of myself and the world around me. I began to feed, really feed my body for the first time, and I started to move more, not because I needed to slim down, but because this is what our bodies are designed to do - we are supposed to move! I began to sing more, write more, think, love and care more. I began to change.
I began to shift.
Shifting isn't some magical "other" wordily notion for people who spend years on a cushion or in the caves of the Himalayans. Rather, it is something that is natural, human. It is growth from challenge. Shifting is realizing that what happens to us is NOT always punishment or personal, but rather lessons that become our teachers. We can lead better lives just by remembering to breathe deeper and to be reflective rather than responsive. We can find happiness when we look inside of ourselves or at the faces of our loved ones, a child, a kitten, a tree. We can feel better just by making small changes to diet, excercise and sleeping. This is becoming awake. This is shifting.
But beware, friends. Shifting can also be scary.
You can become hyper focused on the changes to your thoughts, your perception, your attention and awareness. You can question yourself, your relationships, your choices. You may find that the world can become lonely for a bit, you may lament for the "ignorant bliss" you left behind with a longing to return to the easier path you laid down years ago. Stay solid my friends! This passes and what waits on the other side is beautiful. Being fully mindful of your life, you will find joy and gratitude in the simplest of things. You stand back and think about the consequences of your words and actions as well as those of the people around you. You, in a nutshell . . . begin to see, to feel and to be . . . different.
Why did the shift happen in my life? Because I wanted something more, something in service to others and to work toward a higher purpose. Because I want to live in the "now" of each moment of my beautiful life and I want to help others do that too.
And you just might find that healing, health and happiness is not a destination, but a way of living.
To quote the great Eckhart Tolle . . .
Stay free, stay happy . . . until next time.
Nadina
Beautiful story , thank you for sharing.