Changing the Narrative

The dismantling moments of ‘change’ is perpetually knocking upon the doors of life. 

Rude, as this housekeeper is, the posted signs of ‘do not disturb’ or ‘please come later’, do not seem to deter her in the least. She comes in barging! And truth be told, be it good or bad, the change that she brings always unsettles what ‘is’.

I love my yoga instructor who is a truly gifted person. Practicing with her has remained therapeutic for my mind, body and soul.

Recently she called in sick and we had a substitute for her class.  Had I been aware, I would conveniently choose to not attend but I was already there and so I remained!

Surely enough I disliked everything that the substitute made us do. Constantly comparing it to the experience that I was accustomed to I rolled my eyes and bickered at every move.

Luckily daily meditation has bolstered my ability to be self-aware.

Our sense of self-awareness is what differentiates us from animals. We can, if we choose, become instantaneously aware of the instruments of thought, emotion or sensation that is guiding our actions in life.

 I smiled as I caught myself with my ‘resisting’ mind in her class. I noticed how my own desire to control the experience I was having, intervened with my ability to simply enjoy what was there.  The human mind is an extremely powerful tool. When given a free reign it can rob us of our life and our presence in it.

Just as soon as I noticed it, I was able to rearrange its constructs. My compassion for the new instructor increased and I became more accepting of her way of instruction. I must admit I even enjoyed the piece of poetry that she read to us in the end of the class.

I still love my original instructor and have a preference for her style of instruction. But recognizing the resistance that I had built towards any new experience enabled me to enjoy rather than simply endure the substitute’s class.

 I have to confess however, that it’s often not as easy.

We are creatures of habit, often preferring our miserable ways of living and being to adopting the changes that can benefit us.  The bigger changes of death, illness, changes in relationships and careers often leaves us stumped.

Its funny how quickly we formulate stories of who we are and how we ought to live. Years back upon taking my very first course in mindfulness based meditation I was surprised at the many baseless assumptions upon which I had built my life.

The simple truth is that the narrative is consistently changing for all of us. Even for those who pretend or claim otherwise. In my mind the only thing worthy of our attention is deliberately picking on those threads of our stories that promote our wellbeing.