Living Can be easy, Why do we Complicate things?
"Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world." - Lao Tzu
Welcome to the blog beautiful friend! I hope you will find some inspiration, insight and encouragement in this blog. I hope to have weekly pieces reflecting the all encompassing facet of what it means to find alignment in life and how living a life connected to the ancient Vedic, Hindu, Taoist, Stoic and Eastern Philosophical wisdom can support that. This quote from Lao Tzu reminds me how we can truly live life so simply and yet we complicate things. We get so wrapped in our in thoughts whether it be past or the present. I once heard this quote that thinking too much about the past will get you in a state of depression, whereas thinking too much about the future will bring you anxiety and anxious thoughts. It's not a surprise that in order to bring our minds back into the present moment and cultivate mindfulness will bring us back to a state of homeostasis and clarity.
Homeostasis in psychology is a concept whereby the body is in a state of stability and balance and can regulate various physiological processes to keep internal states steady and balanced. The term was coined in 1932 by American physiologist and professor Walter Bradford Cannon and explores the body's reaction to stress and our set points for our reactions towards stressful situations and our baseline internal compositions without stress.
To reflect back to the quote at the beginning, simplicity, patience and compassion. Lao Tzu refers to these are our greatest treasures. How in your life have you leaned on simplicity and how has it been supportive to your mental wellness? This makes me think of when we try to do something new, like taking a new class, or starting a business, or a new job and feeling like we NEED to be perfect (whatever that means right?) and if we aren't showing up knowing everything and fearing making a mistake then the world will implode (OMFG). No, that isn't it at all. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why is it so hard to just be in the damn moment, keep things simple. Put one foot in front of the other and realize that it doesn't need to or have to be complicated.
This then flows nicely into compassion and patience. No surprise there that these are all intertwined. Think of a time in your life when someone was compassionate to you. How did it impact that situation? How did you feel? Learning to be more mindful of these moments leaning into our hearts and not taking things personally will allow you to live life more unattached and more heart centered. Finally, patience. There is nothing more powerful than feeling the energy of patience from ourselves and others. To me, the energy of patience feels like a nice warm hug after a long day, a cup of cocoa on a winter's day or feeling the warmth going back inside after being outside on a winter's day. It doesn't rush you or place expectations on you, it's just there in it's beautifully supportive existence reminding you, "I've got you".
I leave you with these parting words from this week's entry, whenever you start to complicate things lean back into these three virtues, simplicity, compassion and patience. Watch how the world will start to unfold so differently for you. Be well friends <3
