REFLECT, RECHARGE, RE-IMAGINE
In a break from our usual round up; today I hope you will join me in giving gratitude not only for the month, but for the decade that’s been.
When reflecting on the past decade, I can’t ignore the elephant in the room – the explosion of social media. In 2010 Instagram was relatively unknown but once it exploded, so did our dependency on quick fixes, on endless scrolling and judging worth by the little heart that promised to fill a void; all be it for a short time. With the growth of digital platforms came the need to profit, so followed fake news, controlled content and lack of perspective. It’s not all doom and gloom, because digital has given sustainability and the #metoo movement a global platform and given all of us a means to discover what truly matters.
So what does matter? How do we fill the next year and beyond living mindfully and with meaning? We begin by learning from the past. There will have been challenges, growth, fears to overcome, perhaps a feeling that we could have done more and hopefully in the moments of being truly present and open to life, we were able to capture some beautiful, joyful memories. As we step into 2020, I share some tools to bringing greater clarity to your vision for next year and beyond.
beautiful image by golden lotus
Firstly, grab pen and paper and begin to write all that you are proud of having achieved over the past 10 years. From the seemingly smallest to the biggest wins – no censor. Just begin to scribble.
Next write all the challenges you’ve faced. From your mind chatter playing tricks on you to the mammoth hurdles. Write without judgement.
Now, look back and at the top 5 achievements and top 5 challenges that stand out. The intention is to be left with a sheet of paper that highlights how the achievements will propel you in 2020 and the lessons learnt from challenges will now have been learnt, never to be repeated. As the great Maya Angelou said, ‘when you know better, you do better’. So what will you do this coming decade? What do you want your life story to be? It’s time to reflect, renew and re-imagine the life that’s waiting for you, if only you let go.
In order to bring reflections into practice, we need to re-charge. When the mind is foggy, reflections come with a bias and can seem overwhelming. When we want to achieve so badly, but fail to take action and this leads to a feeling of having failed, which spirals into unworthiness and this then perpetuates the belief ‘I am not enough’. The way to come out of this cycle of illusion is to first re-charge. You need time for yourself. Sit daily in silence, walk in nature, have phone-free time, commit to small, daily habits at first. So small that it’s hard to fail. This will bolster your self-belief and the habits will grow. Start each morning with the Buddhist compassion prayer.
“may I be filled with loving kindness,
May I be well,
May I be peaceful and at ease,
May I be happy and free from suffering
State this mantra daily for one month, until you truly feel comfortable giving to yourself. Then the following week you can repeat it 3 times for yourself and 3 times for someone you love. The following week, add someone you feel indifferent towards and finally, add someone you have a seeming conflict with. The conflict is mind made and will fade once you’ve been kind to yourself and seen the illusion for what it is.
As well as giving yourself loving kindness, treat your body with respect. Eat nourishing local, seasonal and organic foods and allow yourself to indulge when you’re out. Give yourself a daily massage. If you don’t have time to massage the whole body, focus on the healing reflexes of the feet. Indulge in a daily bath, with salts, candles and silence. Perhaps take up a new activity – one that you can commit to.
Now you’re ready to re-imagine. Not for someone else, not from your limitations but from your re-imagined dreams. Dreams need not be grand. Social media would have us believe we all need to be travelling to far flung places, dressed in floaty numbers without a care in the world. I wish you that, if it’s what you wish yourself. Then again, it may be as simple and profound as peace, belonging, community and an ease with who you are. The life you’re living may be based on past conditioning, but the operative word is ‘past’. I believe the biggest impact comes from how you want to feel, as opposed to what you physically want. Have you ever put pictures on a wall or wanted something and then it’s manifested, as if by magic? I know I have, but did those things bring peace and joy?
How do we move into feeling our joy, as opposed to manufacturing it? We become conscious in every moment and we do that through reflecting, recharging and re-imaging. Change can bring fear, but also freedom – your choice. So join us in creating a life well-lived. Mauli pledge to give you informative and inspiring content that enriches your day and I thank you for giving us the opportunity to live our ‘dharma’.
Let’s commit to living beautifully. Anita x
