Day 242/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
If not now, when? When it is time enough? How much longer do you wish to suffer?
There's no surprise if you've been reading my blog, that my life's mission has been to resolve emotional turmoil, unravel inner conflicts and appease mental and emotional gymnastics.
So my question to anyone who still becomes embroiled in family conflicts, who still scrap over menial things, who still find family gatherings impossibly awkward, who feel hurt and rejected and pushed and pulled, when is it ever going to be, "enough!".
When will you take the time to figure out how to participate in the human race with more relational ability? When will you begin to look inwards, and make the existential shifts that need to happen to change the course of your life?
If not now, when? !
Most all of our suffering stems from our earliest relationships. That's not to give you permission to point the stick at your parents or caregivers. Certainly they played a role, however it is how you adjusted to their part that created the life you have today.
There are predictable patterns of human behaviour that make it possible for medical people to take a stab at a diagnosis. But that's not at all important, because there are as many variations on those diagnoses as there are people on this planet.
What's important is the unravelling of your own experiences and coping strategies to be able to see more clearly the path that you have taken, the people who you have related to along the way, their impact and the way that all of that is showing up in your lived experience today.
We're not meant to suffer. Just because everyone does, is not enough reason to call it the human condition.
I didn't buy the idea that suffering was necessary and I've crawled my way out from under that rock.
If not now, when?
Learn to be relational, more relational than you are at present.
Learn to be present, more present than you are right now.
Learn to be aware, more aware than you are right now.
Ask for help and guidance.
When your suffering is over, real living begins.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.