When it comes to the person you are or the work you do, you have two witnesses to contend with: others and yourself. You are the principal witness of your own life.The voice of the "other" is powerful because we have been told to listen to it above our own voice for so long. We are told what to do in school. We are told how to achieve in our careers, and from there what skills we need to learn, when we will get promoted, when we can take vacations, etc. Yet, we are told to "take charge of our lives."Craftsmen know the importance of accurate self-evaluation. They know that of the two perspectives, it matters most what they think of themselves, their work, and their own sense of progress.Between others' opinions and my own thoughts, I know best what is going on. I have to continue working on perceiving myself with compassion but also not allowing self-deception./This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal
Photo by Nicolas Picard
Good Humaning: There are no dead ends.
All threads from my Life Path lead to where I am now, and the work I’m focused on now. There are no dead ends, no dangling threads.
If everything I have learned and experienced is in service of the work I do, then why do I feel shame in the unfinished? the incomplete?
Ego drives shame, disappointment, and frustration. Learning to let go is one of the hardest lessons with which I reason, frequently. Ego lets feelings get in the way of feel.
In the moments I reframe dead ends as being in service of where I am today, I soften. I relax. I experience happiness. I am closer to getting a feel for what it is I should be doing.
..and it’s infectious.
/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal
Photo by Rahul Vaidya
Good Humaning: Confusion
When you take time to reflect you start to realize that:
thoughts don't really begin, they just are
and they are endless
they appear but are not concrete
and, if there is no beginning and no end, no way to contain or house them--
Then I have no choice but to remain open so that these thoughts can pass through me. This insight helps me apply the cliche of "being a vessel for change." I truly am. I am not the person I was a year ago, or even a month ago. If I don't remain open, I am literally hoarding these thoughts, most of them useless distractions.Useless thoughts are unwanted, heavy, and limiting.