Day 106, November 8, 2016 @10:49 am
The morning is grey. I bring myself back to this space to dispel it. I’m returning to my journey of making changes in a conscious way. If I don’t, they will happen to me willy, nilly. Better to go into them with eyes wide open.
I sat with Timothea Goddard’s session of the Mindfulness Summit 2015 to review the 3 insights from practicing mindfulness and cultivating kindness.
- Pain can’t be avoided.
- Everything is impermanent.
- The self – the me, I, mine is always changing and not permanent.
In short you can sum the insights up as life sucks, everything changes and don’t take anything personally. If I can really accept the first two and learn to live the third, life could be a lot easier. And it is. I have been practicing. Sometimes I have become distracted and wandered off. I’m learning to come back and come back more readily and often. I’m less inclined to throw up my hands and say, I CAN’T do it!
This morning I’ve returned to the task of clearing my work table in the basement. It was not hard. It was not easy. It felt unpleasant. I stood and felt my avoidance/nausea for a moment, not knowing where to start. Then I just plunged in, opening an envelope, a shoebox, taking out papers, shredding them, bagging them. I let the feelings be. I did not try to chase them away. Then an understanding of what they are/why they are came. It was okay. I was okay. It was like what Oprah calls peeling an onion. I’ve peeled the first layer, the beginning of an opening. It is enough. I will return tomorrow.
What box have you opened today?
onethousandandtwo 