Posts tagged attitude
A lesson I must always come back to. Attitude’s everything.
(via: yogachick: fitnesstreats)
Now would be a good time for a little karma cleanse, I think.
Abundant gratitude.
I know we’re several weeks past Thanksgiving, but the concept of gratitude has been percolating in my mind for many weeks and pretty much always, actually. It sounds weird, but I’m actually grateful for the abundance of gratitude in my life. I’ve reached a stage where I am able to recognize and acknowledge the vast blessings in my life, rather than focus on what’s not there. The past year gave me the opportunity to truly put into practice a consistent attitude of gratitude, as I struggled with layoffs, unemployment, uncertainty, and at times, fear.
While I was lucky to know my basic needs could be met (i.e. food & shelter), my life meandered like a car on an unknown dirt road, unsure of where I was headed or when I’d get there. However, I knew if I kept moving forward, taking action and maintaining integrity, the current unknowns would be revealed. And in the meantime, I’d remember to take inventory of the amazing gifts I’d been given. In addition to my basic life needs, I have a beautiful home, a devoted husband, a loving and supportive extended family, amazing friends, an invigorating yoga practice and kula that inspires me always. I eat well and drink wine; I live near the ocean with good weather. I am healthy. Need I go on?
Believe me, I COULD make as long a list of everything I don’t have, but then I’d be lying to myself and others that my life is not amazingly complete, even in its imperfections. My yoga practice has allowed me to place gratitude in the forefront of my thoughts. I do not see what I can not do; I honor everything that I can. I give light to the inherent beauty of the moment, even while recognizing the simultaneous imperfections that exist. This process has been years in the making, and it’s always a work in progress, so no matter where you may be in your process, just be grateful.
Peace, Joy and Fulfillment
I just watched the movie Revolutionary Road, and it paints a very pessimistic view of suburban family life and the lack of meaning and fulfillment it provides. If they only lived somewhere else or had a different job, their life would have meaning and fulfillment. Perhaps that may be true, but irrespective of that detail, the biggest fundamental mistake the characters make is to think that life’s meaning and fulfillment is found externally. I happen to think they would have found the same problems and discontent wherever they went because the problem to be solved came from within. It would still be there in the next city or at the next job.
I had a job a few years ago that made me absolutely miserable. I mean, crying in bed because I didn’t want to go to work and face the day. I would drive to work thinking “I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.” It’s no surprise I’d have a miserable day, right? After a year, things started to get a bit better. Nothing actually changed, though, except my attitude and acceptance. I recognized what mattered most to me, and that I already had it in my personal relationships, health and general life comfort. I chose to make the most of every moment, to focus on my own actions and to not fixate on the negative.
My yoga practice and the book A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, assisted me tremendously in making this mind shift. It didn’t happen over night, but it did happen out of necessity. Peace, joy and fulfillment are not things we can only find all alone or on a retreat in a foreign land. They do not only exist when all external conditions are perfected and aligned. They can be found in the midst of a horrid hip opener or a terrible work environment. They can be found right now from within.
