Having returned home from traveling, I am busy processing and trying to readjust to my old routine/lifestyle. I have started reading The Alchemist. This quote about the language of the world has been inspiring me to forge ahead ‘It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of the search for something believed in and desired’.
How often do we hold ourselves back with negative ‘what if’s’ without even exploring the positive ‘what if’s’? Western society at present is a high pressured world to exist in. We are in a torrent cycle of having to live our lives up to the standards our society says are acceptable. Career, earning power, relationship status, procreation, home status…the list goes on. The never-ending pressure to measure up to these standards.
Being out of my regular routine, gave me the opportunity to quite all of that noise. It didn’t exist. I had the space to truly stop and hear what my gut was telling me, actually understand what that message was. Trust in an instinct, out of the scope of what these ‘standards’ said I should be chasing. A pure feeling, and its scary, but exhilarating all in the one breath…its the ‘what if’ I do/can.
I pushed myself while I was traveling; to do things i was scared or nervous of, and go for it all the same. This is something i can apply and use now that I’m back in my routine. Feel the fear and do it anyway. All of us can try do this a little more. Of course it’s not as simple with life decisions when you have responsibilities, but it can be applied to trying something new, something you have always wanted to do, or somewhere you might want to go. I jumped off cliffs, into lakes, into caves, into the sea, i dove, i held a tarantula. I am scared of spiders, and i am not super confident in my swimming ability, and have fears of what lies beneath the water’s surface. Yet I felt so alive and proud every-time i pushed and overcame a fear, i realised; yes i can do this, and its ok, more than ok, it’s exhilarating, and wonderful to experience. I gained self-confidence with each of those experiences.
Our bodies and minds are incredibly resilient. How over time we are able to normalise pain, whether its physical or mental anguish, to the point we become numb, lost and continue to damage ourselves. Through practising yoga I have learned to listen to my body more, and from travel to listen to my instincts. Last year I worked hard at doing things that brought me joy and happiness, but I wasn’t really listening. It’s important we take time to listen and connect to ourselves, in a bid to honor who we are.
My new years resolution is to follow my gut, listen to my instincts, and begin to get closer to a way of life I’ve always thought was out of reach. To work on resting, having the quite and calm to keep listening. Trust myself, my abilities, appreciate what I have learnt, celebrate it, and see where this life can take me.
Whats one of your dreams/visions?Can you do something today to take a step closer toward it? Does thinking about it inspire joy and excitement? Butterflies? Why not invest some energy into ways of reaching it?
I’ll leave you with this last quote from The Alchemist ‘He suddenly felt tremendously happy. He could always go back to being a shepherd. He could always become a crystal salesman again. Maybe the world had other hidden treasures, but he had a dream, and he had met with a king’
Be your own king or queen. Tune in. Hear the beat of your drum. It’s all in your own hands.
A journey of self help and love 