Staying Mindful
So I wanted to drop a quick blog with regard to mindfulness!
Before I do, I need to stress, I am in no way an expert in this field. I have no intention of entering into this field, I just have a lot of respect for it and believe we can all benefit if we simply practice a little mindfulness.
During my life, I have faced many adversities, as many of you will have no doubt faced. From my early twenties (I'm now 40), I have lost 10 close friends, I mean really close friends! That's 5 a decade or 1 a year! I have come close to bankruptcy 3 times and have developed a pretty serious physical ailment that causes crippling sciatic pain through both legs and feet.
For this very reason I have been let go from 2 separate jobs and have struggled to find replacements on both occasions, as most things are just too physically demanding or involve sitting for long periods of time on end. I have been a victim of a house invasion and I once found a young lad laying in a wet road one drizzly winters night that had opened his own wrists (sorry, I know it's grim at this point but I grew up in a pretty grim part of the UK)!
These are just a few things that immediately spring to mind, right off the bat. Yet, despite all the above, regardless of all the misfortune and challenges that always seem to kick you when you're down, there is, and always has been, a determination within me, an inner voice that snarls at me to get up like 'Micky' in the 'Rocky' films! That refuses to lay down, that fights life hard and keeps pushing forward!
There are advantages from growing up in the slums, at some point you just have to find that inner voice, that inner you in order to simply get through a regular day of the week. Though, in many ways, those of us that appear to have it the hardest, in my opinion are the ones who get it the easiest!
Here's why...
When you have to struggle, when you have to scrape by in this world, it builds a certain strength of character. When you have no idea where your next meal is going to come from and you really get dealt what appears to be a terribly bad hand, in fact, it is a blessing in disguise, as it instills a certain determination.
Determination leads to focus, focus leads to mindfulness, or at least it can do, if you don't stand in your own way! The problem most face is with our conditioning, from the youngest age we've been mind hijacked. Through no fault of our own, we have been dictated to in many ways... This is good, that is bad... This is wrong, that is right! In many ways we haven't been allowed to think for ourselves, we are a society that seem to concentrate on the half empty glass and fail to see just how much we have to be grateful for.
I have no money in my bank account - We have food in our cupboards.
I haven't got enough dough to go out with my pals - I have a beautiful family I get to spend time with instead.
I had to sell my car to pay for last Christmas - My kids had everything they asked for off Santa.
I have been let go from my job - I now have the time to commit full time to WA (a move I've wanted to make for years now).
My point is, it is merely the mindset we hold, if we focus on being more mindful, if we just stay calm in the eye of the storm, if we KNOW wholeheartedly that this (or any other venture) WILL work for us if we put the work in. Not believe, KNOW, it will work, then, if coming from a place of love, from a place of excitement and determination, if we just have some mindfulness... Then we WILL succeed!
To each and every last of us that are going after our dreams, I hope this serves as a reminder to you all. I hope you keep a little mindfulness going forward, especially when faced with adversity. Remember, everything in life has its polar opposite, yin and yang, positive and negative. I for one have experienced enough of the negative, it's time for the positive years now, as there is ALWAYS a positive from a negative. If you pay attention, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time, you will see, the positive has to arrive out of it.
Big Love & Love Big!
Ad Price (Ad1979)
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Fantastic attitude! I agree that hardships can make you bitter or better. It's all up to us!
So it is Rachele, the sky's the limit when we learn we are the only ones that put limitations in place, to begin with. I truly wish each and every last WA every success and a beautiful, bountiful life.
Lot's of Love,
Ad.
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Good post and reminds me that we should always be conditioning our brains just like our bodies. You do so by asking questions without answering the questions. Questions like, "What can I do right now to help others?," or "what can I do today to be a better husband (father, wife,etc.)?"