Stay Curious
During my meditations, sometimes I observe myself as all the functions that are happening.
“I am the blood running through my veins and the vibrations of my ear drums and the air in my lungs”. These thoughts bring about a deep feeling of appreciation. I am fascinated by the capability of my body to run certain systems without input from the consciously-thinking part of my brain. Another thought I revisit often is the fact that microbes in my gut influence my actions in the 3-D world. Most people have hardly taken the time to really understand that one. The reality of life is unnerving and it can expose our deepest fears. This is why some people choose blissful ignorance; life is more enjoyable when we forget about the bad stuff. Or is it? Sometimes we find that experiencing tragedy or being exposed to adversity is what gives us the capacity to appreciate our achievements. It is by knowing how bad things can be that we can acknowledge our blessings.
The real challenge for me is trying to appear entertained by whats going on in the real world when there are so many curiosities in the land of the unseen. I think this might be why philosophical people focus on nourishing and testing the body limits. I have incorporated embodiment practices into my day, like shifting the water from warm to cold at the end of my shower to experience and breathe through the discomfort. Over time, I have noticed this has become more automatic and less difficult to do. The same thing happened with journaling and meditation. It used to be such a daunting idea to do something everyday, but when I started with one thing and added more gradually, it is just part of the routine.
The truth is, there are things we do everyday that we shouldn’t. Not taking notice of those things is what makes us feel like we have no time. Losing track of time used to only happen when we were so enchanted by life that we lost the sense of time. Even a book could give us that sensation of time standing still. Now we can lose track of time by being too many places at once, mentally. We can literally think ourselves into inaction. This is something I struggle with: a lot of ideas buzzing around with little action taken to bring any of them out of the thought realm. From what I understand, I am in good company when it comes to having this condition. Maybe its ADHD; maybe its just the result of a monkey brain bombarded with information. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that keeping all systems on line is a miracle and anything beyond that is magical. We have to keep reminding ourselves of this and not become dull to the fact that we are truly miraculous beings.
Originally written in Collective Journaling at The Stoa
