Regardless of whether you are bold, strong, arrogant or brash. Whether you are meek, mild, timid or passive. Whether you are foolhardy, risky, daring or crazy. Life is going to knock you down. Other people are going to pull your kayak off-course. People you love are going to hurt your feelings. Your boss or co-workers are going to bug the living crap out of you. Accidents will happen, mistakes will occur. When life knocks us down, some of us whimper and cry, some of us swear, some of us yell. Some of us shrug our shoulders and move on.
I get knocked down but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down.
Chumbawamba
In general, how we respond is a habit, a learned response. We don’t think about what to say when someone criticizes us – we just lash out or shut down. We don’t choose to lose our temper it feels like it has a mind of its own and the situation escalates.
What if each of us were able to decide how to respond to these events that are outside of our control? What if we could decide whether these events will ruin our day, be a minor bump in the road or roll off of us like we are Teflon. All you need to do this is to take a fraction of a second more than you do now before responding. A fraction of a second!
Daily practices such as quiet time, meditation, yoga, and tai-chi help us in these moments. They help us to slow down time just a fraction of a second to allow us to breathe, to see what is unfolding, to notice the SHENPA and to chose to respond differently.
Think about the consequences, if everyone reading this post engaged in a daily practice that allowed you to do this, to slow down time so as to not respond in the manner we are in the habit of responding.
Minor offenses would not escalate into hurt feelings and avoidant behaviors. Hurt feelings would not churn inside of us causing us to lash out. Petty words would not lead to arguments or loss of sleep. If each of us were able to attain this level of change in our lives, I am certain that we would see more joy, happiness and contentment in our day. I am sure, choosing happiness would become the easier path.
It starts with me. It starts with you.
This is just on the individual level. Think bigger. What could happen if our local politicians and national leaders gained this ability? What would happen if our world leaders were able to slow down time with the simple daily practice of quiet time, meditation, yoga, or tai-chi?
There would be more cooperation instead of competition. There would be more support and assistance. There would be more understanding and joint ventures. There would be more peace and less war.
It starts with me. It starts with you.
We live in a time where people get beat up for wearing the wrong baseball cap. Where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Where profits are valued more than people. Where corporations have a greater say in our government than the people.
Changing the current system is hard.
It starts with me. It starts with you.
I don’t know how to change our world for the better. I don’t have the answers to climate change, terrorism, corruption, violence or natural disasters. What I do know is that real change can start at the individual level. It can start with me. It can start with you.
The next time life knocks you down a bit don’t get up swinging. Don’t shut down. Just get up! A daily practice of quiet time, meditation, tai-chi or even walking in nature can help prepare us to handle whatever life has in store. It won’t happen overnight – but it will happen. All you have to do is start!
How we respond to the daily challenges that life throws at us will propel us towards or away from our dreams. Which direction are you heading?
Lake Girl
