Who said this would be easy?
It is not as easy as you thought, is it? The path to self improvement requires
consistent focus, time and energy; without these ingredients, change cannot
occur.
If you were to renounce your worldly possession and live the
life of a monk, you would find plenty of time to contemplate your soul. You could ponder the questions “who am I”,
“why do I exist” and “what is my life’s purpose?” You could meditate for hours, days, months,
years and wait for the answers to come; even still, they may not arise.
The reality is that you are of this world living in a society
with a family, a career, and bills to pay.
It is important to ask deep and introspective questions however, the
road to discovering your soul’s purpose becomes a little more circuitous while engaging
with the material world.
Deepak Chopra speaks to this in his book, Spiritual Solutions. He talks about being “of” this world but not
“in” it. To be truly honest with
yourself, you must develop maturity, discipline, and carve out time for meditation. Deep within your mind and soul you will find your
“true self.” If you can maintain the
responsibilities of life as a citizen, family member and co-worker and make time
for introspection, then you are “of” this world and not “in” it.
When you create a healthy body by habitually eating
right, exercising, and meditating, it becomes easy to deal with day to day
problems. “The secret,” Deepak writes “is that the level of the
problem is never at the level of the solution.” You must rise
to the level of the solution; expand your awareness towards limitless possibilities
to go beyond the drudgery of day to day existence.
That’s the main reason you committed to this
challenge. You wanted to rise to the
level of your Personal Best. You wanted to transform and overcome obstacles that
were holding you back from reaching your fullest potential. You have come a long way and by now, you can see
changes happening, however, you can also see how easily you fall prey to your
old habits once a sense of complacency sits in.
That’s why you have to be ever vigilant with your new
habits. Remind yourself to stay
positive, take daily action steps towards you goal, develop discipline and
meditate. My belief is that meditation
is the most important tool for self improvement.
In the quiet and solitude of your mind, you can forgive
yourself. You can imagine whatever
reality you want. You become fully aware
of your body; what hurts, where the extra fat is hanging, and what other physical
limitations keep you from sitting quietly for a few minutes a day. You can look deep in your heart to ask the
hard questions, “Am I happy?” “Have I
hurt someone?” “Am I acting from my
heart or out of pressure from others?”
And none of this is easy. It’s hard to stay on track. It’s hard to get to class when you’re tired,
it’s hard to arrange your schedule to find 15 minutes of quiet solitude, and
it’s hard to manage all of these things around family and work. And that my friend, is why most people just
quit! However, you will never give up!
Namaste
Clarita
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