This is it.
/I’ve been pursuing enlightenment for several years. I’ve meditated, retreated, thought, not-thought, stayed-put and journeyed all in an attempt to find the perfect mental space where things don’t bother me. Anytime I think I’m making progress, I’m confronted by some minor annoyance coupled with a Vesuvian reaction that is well...embarrassing.
I would be happy, if that stupid car wasn’t driving so close to me!
I’d be a picture of serenity if I didn’t just stub my toe in the dark!
As I’m journeying, these small reminders turn into opportunities to reflect on my reactions, biases, and demands that the world be exactly the way I want it to be. A wise teacher once told me three little words that changed my life, are you ready?
This is it.
Good and bad, happy and sad; the world is as it is, and I’ve given my mind the impossible task of making it all right and right now too please. Telling myself this is it allows the potent follow up questions:
Ok, now what?
How do I want to respond?
How do I want to relate to what’s happening?
Which parts are in my control, and which parts are not?
I can’t change the world through worrying alone. Sometimes I need patience, sometimes I need action, but both require me to step back and realize the cards that are already on the table. This is it. Now, realizing this doesn’t make me feel better, but it does bring me some calm knowing that it’s not up to me to fix everything right now and the world will probably never be exactly the way I want it to be.
We are now confronted with situations that are anything but trivial. There is a pandemic raging, the ugliness of racism has been on front pages everywhere, the economy is in the toilet, and on and on it seems. It’s a big deal. We live in a comfortable world most of the time, so we are confronted with the understatement that we need to adapt to the most non-normal of terms- the New Normal.
But, this is it. There is no worrying the world back to normal. Shouting at the television doesn’t help either, believe me- I’ve tried. It is a painful reminder that we don’t control very much about the world at all. All we control is how we respond, and it’s always more effective to respond rather than react. ‘This is it’ allows me that extra beat to decide what action is necessary, if any at all. It also serves as a reminder that I’m not worth much to others if I neglect my own needs while I’m distracted elsewhere. We at TFN call this ‘protect the ambulance’. It’s not selfish to take care of your body when others need you, because the people you’re helping likely need you to be healthy and strong too. Despite the uncertainty in the newspapers, there are certain things that are within my control everyday, namely.
Lift weights
Eat well
Take care of my health
Pay my bills
Take care of my family
Balancing these obligations is going to be difficult for all of us and we’re here to help. Recognizing what you don’t control is the only pathway to focusing on the things that you can. We can’t change the world through idly wishing things were different, but we can choose to respond to less than ideal circumstances and create a positive impact on ourselves and each other. And maybe, just maybe we’ll all be a little more enlightened along the way.