Don’t we all strive to be our best everyday ? Or is it just me? The truth is that I have forgotten what’s that like, lately. With the recession and the miserable atmosphere all around, with the sad stories of many skillful people unemployed, with the low morale surrounding us like a smog cloud, and with the cash-low, I haven’t felt like I could strive for excellence lately, I admit it. Everyday, I wake up, I say my lord’s prayer and hope that my beautiful and abundant inner self will appear in the outside world in the form of a super job, in the field that I wanna be in (humanitarian work, of course), with the super paycheck at the end of each month, with fabulously kind and co-operative colleagues, full of compassion for the days that I’ll be off work travelling somewhere to expand my horizons, and…..nothing happens! And I wonder why, after all the reading I’ve done, my continuous and on-going training in my spiritual path, my positive attitude, my love for all, and my open heart, haven’t somehow materialized by now in the outside in the form of all that I’ve mentioned above, oh, and including a fabulously kind and generous soul of a soulmate. And so, as I want to believe that I can achieve all that and more, I do (try to) strive for excellence every day.
Inside of me I live in a world of abundance, generosity, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, shedding the light in all the dark areas that I discover, and I work on that purposely everyday, mostly through my yoga and meditation. So, back to the to-do-lists. What I’ve mentioned in my previous post and the basics of time management , are all very well if they are done with awareness and consciousness. I find that people who are good with time management, who are in order and on top of their game, most times seem to be the uptight types. And I’ve watched people like that transform when they moved to the country side, now they are much more laid-back and approachable. What I’m trying to say is that having enough time to do the things we enjoy doing, or even better, do nothing, for periods during the day, is also important. The to-do-list is pointless if the tasks in it are not done with awareness, and presence. Remember, we are not human-doings, we are human-beings. And the beings that we have left behind so long ago we forgot they are there, are waiting to be brought to the surface and guide us to our true norths, or in other words, to our true selves, to our higher selves, to the higher beings that we all are. That’s why it’s so important that we spent sometime alone with ourselves everyday, in order to find that connection, to come out to the light again, to feel nothing. To think nothing. STILLNESS. The Yin time of reflection.
Sometimes, I can’t get to the point of the day where its pure joy and I do all the things I love because previously I haven’t done all the bits and bolts that need doing and then I spend all day feeling guilty and so there is no joy or achievement and the day goes wasted. What a shame. Here is where the time management is so important in nailing us well to the ground so we can deal with our 24 hours as impeccably as we can, being true to ourselves, allowing us some slack time, but always with the awareness of where that time goes. After all, all we have to do in our lives is decide where to give our time, as Gandolf said to Froddo in the Lord of the Rings. So, as I strive for the light and the love to manifest yet another day, I can’t help but wonder, if we all lived with the principles of the Buddha, dhamma and sangha what a wonderful world this would be! Buddha, our real-self, our enlightened self. Dhamma, the path and the practice to get there – any true, sincere, honest path. Sangha – the big tribe of all these brothers and sisters on earth that we are trying to do this thing together. That simple. That simple.
Tomorrow morning I am off to a cycling weekend with friends done for a charitable cause and I’m nothing but determined to bring my best self to the group, share the joy and the love that its our true and real state of being and remain positive no-matter what. After all, it’s the weekend, on a glorious Greek island, with lots of friends, good exercise and fresh air, who could ask for more? I’m very grateful for all! (weather prediction: wet and crappy, but who cares, we are in it for the adventure). More when I get back!
With mucho amor to all,
Tabitha
