Friday 5 October 2012

Previously engaged…is there such a thing as detachment?



Yesterday writing came easy, it was like someone had turned on a tap inside of me and it just flowed. Whereas today, despite the weather making me want to venture to my laptop with a cuppa; that same sense of freedom wasn’t there. Which led me to wonder about attachment, of wanting and or expecting things to be a certain way.  I read my first meditation lesson yesterday, which was on this very subject. Life is really merely a game, a chance for us to play our part without literally being drawn into the drama that life can create at times.
This particularly lesson was reminding me of the importance of staying neutral and to merely observe.  To get caught up in emotional turmoil will lead to suffering.  I’d always viewed my emotions as a barometer of sorts, a way of checking in.  People will say and do things that will cause me to react. But the times that I have made the best decisions are those where I have pressed pause momentarily.  And the universe often does send us lessons in the form of experiences, relationships and situations.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna to ‘be a yogi’.  The translation of this being to act like a warrior.  How we receive the arrows of life, so to speak, defines us.  And the most challenging lessons will test us, once we face them.
As a woman, I’m going to play the premenstrual card here somewhat. Picture if you will…’The Five Year Engagement’, a meat pie, dark scorched almonds and a box of tissues. That pretty much sums up my evening last night.  Comfort food...kind of ironic, as I was writing about this very thing yesterday, and chick flick. As said chick flick was set in San Fran, this had the tears flowing from an early and unexpected point in the film. Love the bay area…cue daydreaming of holiday at the end of the year. Anyways, I digress, the heart strings were tugged and the tears flowed. I do believe tears to be a cathartic thing. I think what Arjuna’s message to us is how we react to them.
Do we let tears, experiences and relationships unfold before us or do we get tied up, caught up and trapped by the meanings we place on them? Emotions are indeed a healthy thing and expressing what we feel does indeed allow us to move through things. Wanting to stay in the one place, whether it be emotionally or physically, will in the end have us riding a not-so-merry go round. A great motivational speaker once reminded me that  ‘ we are all born with potential, we aren’t meant to die with it’.
As I listen to the rain now pouring down outside, I feel hugely grateful for my warm place, laptop and cup of tea. Something as simple as the rainfall can make or break us. I wanted to go the wineries today, but I listened to nature and the thought of driving through the rain elicited a decisive no. Again I’m reminded of and grateful for simplicity. For the opportunity to cook, create and be. We are indeed all where we need to be. And indeed we are all in this world for our own reasons.
So as your universe unfolds before you just as it should,  don’t take it too seriously and remember simplicity.

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