LIVING IN THE NOW – DAY 6
Same old, same old… Ever feel like life is a Groundhog Day?
When we see daily events as a repeat, we may be missing something.
We may be seeing what we expect to see, not what is actually here. We may be interpreting events through goggles smeared with dust from our past. That’s how humans save time and get better at navigating life: we store experiences as memory. So, when we encounter something familiar, in the flash of an eye we interpret NOW as being the same as last time.
While this applies to things ‘out there’, it also applies to our thoughts and opinions. We humans easily get entrenched in fixed views, of our self and other people.
In arguments has it felt like you were going over old ground, repeating and rehearsing the old narratives? Like, “Will this never change?” If so, then it may be time to learn the skills of seeing clearly.
Today’s invitation is to capture one of your ‘views’, opinions or beliefs, hold it in your hand and closely examine it. Is it true?
Play with looking for evidence to suggest it might not be the whole truth. With clean goggles, the ‘blind spots’ – stuff we hived off – may come into focus. Ask other people for their view, listening closely for anything that feels new.
If you try this out, already something has changed: you are adopting a different attitude to what is happening right now. YOU are different from the person who encountered this view last time.
From that clear seeing, the theory is that better decisions can be made. ‘Better’ in so far as they better serve you and the ones you love. See if that’s so for you.
Marcel Proust offers us this:
“The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Inspirational Poem
Roger Keyes: Hokusai says
Hokusai says Look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious.
He says there is no end to seeing.
He says Look forward to getting old.
He says keep changing,
you just get more who you really are.
He says get stuck, accept it, repeat
yourself as long as it’s interesting.
He says keep doing what you love.
He says keep praying.
He says every one of us is a child,
every one of us is ancient,
every one of us has a body.
He says every one of us is frightened.
He says every one of us has to find
a way to live with fear.
He says everything is alive –
shells, buildings, people, fish,
mountains, trees. Wood is alive.
Water is alive.
Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says live with the world inside you.
He says it doesn’t matter if you draw,
or write books. It doesn’t matter
if you saw wood, or catch fish.
It doesn’t matter if you sit at home
and stare at the ants on your verandah
or the shadows 0 the trees
and grasses in our garden.
It matters that you care.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives
through you.
Contentment is Life living through you.
Joy is life living through you.
Satisfaction and strength
is life living through you.
Peace is life living through you.
He says don’t be afraid.
Don’t be afraid.
Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.
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