BREATHE

There will be moments when you simply can’t muster a response. That negative spiral or the feeling of giving in to fate/outcome is easy. But, it drains you. You feel tired. But, it’s not you who is tired. It’s your overactive brain which is tired of running the same tracks of pain & loss and identifying with the victim too often.

I have so often felt that I need a solution to this problem OR need to correct this other person OR change the way something is done. But, in most cases, all I need to do is breathe. Breathe so that I don’t react to the emotion. Breathe so that I can understand what has happened and then decide whether I need to respond to it before I actually respond. Difficult. Requires being thoughtful. But it serves me, not the world. So let’s try to do it. How does it serve me? That’s the curiosity which will help me be consistent.

I remember seeing a visual representation of emotions in our brain and how they breed thoughts. A lot of our emotions are just boats on a river. We or our conscience is on the shore. We feel the urge to catch every boat. But, we don’t need to. Let them come and go. Just observe. And breathe, duh! Some of them are important and you should catch them. But, no need to catch all. Strive for peace and calm. Then, you will find the boat to catch.

You’ll face setbacks but then be curious about how to find that peace. And I think you’ll get there, slowly. I’m trying too and at times, I hit the nail on its head. When I do, I feel the breath easing things on my face, on my head and in my mind. Master Shifu would be a little proud, I think. 🐼