As we continue to weave our way through the ebb and flow of
life, we so often forget to find moments of pause where we reconnect to the
‘bigger picture’ of our lives. It is so easy to become caught up in the throes
of life and find ourselves running on the hamster wheel without even realising
it. As humans, we are creatures of habit, and our beliefs, thoughts and
storylines shape and mould our lives in so many ways; we can get lost in the
array of things to do, places to go and people to see, for we can find
ourselves stuck in routine and growing increasingly numb and distant from the
very things that bring us joy.
After time, such routines shape our lives and we can find
ourselves entrenched in a life that doesn’t bring us all that we intuitively
know that we want, need or desire. Yet, sensing the discord and acting upon it
are quite different things, for it can be so hard to step from A to B, when A
is creating a familiar, albeit uncomfortable, ‘norm’. In other words, we can
resist creating change for even though we are not happy in the present, we take
the ‘better the devil we know’ approach and try to keep on keeping on as best
as we can.
There can be no denying that by adopting such an approach
things get done, but where is the heart? Where is the joy? It seems that when
we step into the world of going with the collective flow rather than finding
our own true flow, we can lose the connection to the world within as we start
to switch off our expansive and inspirational consciousness in order to keep on
keeping on; we become sheep and ‘forget’ how to truly live. Of course, we have
responsibilities to meet so this can keep us locked in the belief that we
cannot afford to create change or it is too risky to step into the unknown. Yet,
when we step back, even momentarily from the hamster wheel, we can see that
nothing is ever truly permanent, even the current status quo of our lives.
It is in these moments of stepping back where everything
starts to change, for in the pause we re-connect to our essence and our Truth,
and the need to stay on the hamster wheel diminishes as we realise that it is
possible to live the lives that we know we were born to live. This is not about
throwing caution to the wind and starting afresh (although this is possible!),
this is more about shifting the focus of the world within to realise that we
are not sheep, nor are we hamsters.
Yet, both sheep and hamsters do have something that we have
lost sight of, they both live consciously in the present moment. How many sheep
do you know that put their lives on hold waiting for the perfect home to come
along? Or how many hamsters have you met that refuse to meet someone new
because their last liaison proved too emotionally painful? Of course, one could
argue, that, as humans, our consciousness and awareness is far more expansive
than either a sheep or a hamster, but we can learn a valuable lesson from them,
and this lesson is conscious living.
As humans, we tend to make life far more complicated than it
needs to be, we find ourselves wrestling with thoughts, ought’s and
expectations as our busy minds work overtime. Our minds are valuable assets,
but so many lose sight of their true selves and begin to solely identify with
the mind. Yet, in those quiet moments, those pauses start to re-connect us to a
more vibrant way of living and being; we begin to move beyond the constraints
of the mind and feel more expansive and alive. If we then step back, whilst
nothing has changed, everything has at the same time, for we bring a little bit
of that awakened state back with us.
Of course, the odd moment of pause in a busy life can bring
respite, but longer pauses are needed in order to step beyond the world of the
mind and embrace a life of living more consciously and vibrantly. Many get
stuck at this point, for what does living consciously and vibrantly truly mean?
Well, it means feeling truly alive and feeling totally connected to the
Universal Whole. In those pauses, we can feel every heartbeat and every breath,
and this feels not only right, but natural as well.
We are not meant to live as isolated islands, struggling to
keep the wheel turning, and when we take the time to pause, we allow ourselves
to step beyond the routine and connect to the joy and the wonder within. It is
this joy that can bring us true peace, for in this joy is love, happiness and
bliss; when we feel this from within, we no longer feel the pressure to chase
life, we start to think about living it instead.
It is so easy to get lost in the churning cogs of everyday
life, and this can make it so hard to even notice the pauses, let alone rest in
them. Yet, if we take the time to gaze at the night sky or to walk in nature,
we can find such opportunities. The stillness and the joy is all around us, as
well as within us, we just need to allow ourselves to experience it more.
Gazing at the night sky and losing ourselves in the magnificence can help us to
connect to the vibrant and divine state of being that is not only possible, but
is our birthright as well.
Sensing the expansive nature of the world within changes the
shape and the vibration of life, for we no longer feel trapped and confined to
the routine; we can see (and feel) how to embrace a new way of living and being
that brings us true happiness and joy from within...