Do you ever get so caught up with working, and keeping a lot of balls in the air that you don’t prioritize your own wellbeing? In a culture like ours, where lots of work and stress is a normal part of life, it’s easy to give in and accept feeling constantly tired and unfulfilled. We have to learn to cope with stress somehow, because it’s an inevitable part of being human. But it’s choosing the right way to deal with stress that really counts.
Unfortunately, like most people I wasn’t taught by my parents or my teachers when young how we should cope with feelings of unworthiness and anxiousness. I used food, computer games and perfectionism to try to manage my life. I still compulsively eat and restrict my food, which is a bit of an ongoing battle, but I've realised that it is probably one of the worst ways to deal with negative experiences and feelings.
As I’m sure many of you have noticed, there is a ‘mindfulness’ trend happening at the moment in our culture. It’s so great to see that people are embracing healthy stress management tools and alternative ways to live. But the fact that mindfulness is a relatively new practice, at least in our part of the world, it’s made me wonder… Have humans actually always used it?
I realized, that the mindfulness practice is just a new way of being spiritual, for a post-catholic Ireland. People crave a sense of security and hope in an unpredictable world. For a long time, I questioned the need for spirituality, and quite frankly thought only ‘weak’ people needed it (I now realize I was the weak one for failing to recognize it's importance). Yet, I have been drawn to mindfulness recently, as a way to help me find some inner peace and hope. I, the un-spiritual one realized I was essentially praying.
Once I made that distinction, I decided to actually pray, properly. Why? Because I felt there was something lacking with just using mindfulness as a way to alleviate stress. I looked up a few prayers. I talked to god for the first time in ages, and it was soothing.
Just to know that someone has seen you through it all; has seen your pain, insecurities, failures and weaknesses and still loves you despite it, is beautiful. One thing I read this week gave me hope especially. That god has created the day, and it is why we should embrace it, because it will happen just the way he intended. And that we should hand our trust over to god, because he knows exactly what he is doing.
This helped me so much this week. I was able to turn to someone when I was struggling, and continue on knowing that there was a force behind me guiding me in the right direction.
At this point in the post, I just want to mention that I am not trying to sell christianity to anyone at all. In fact, the whole point of the post is this; I have found something that works for me. I think humans are inherently spiritual, and almost have to be; to dream, create and hope. It’s a part of us that demands to be fed.
There are so many ways to get in touch with your own ‘spiritual’ side; through books, being with other people, doing what you love. I’m just so glad I have begun to reinvest some time into trying to do just that. At the moment, for example, I am reading a book by Eckhart Tolle called a ‘New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose’. I also like to spend a little time to pray or meditate in the morning, asking god for his help and guidance everyday. Sometimes I do yoga, which actually can be sort of spiritual sometimes! It’s in the small ways exploring that side I think that counts.
I hope this wasn’t too deep of a blog post for a Saturday evening.. Looking forward to the next time!