Stepping into the Unknown
We live in cycles; everything is alive, shifting and changing. Even the rocks, though they might take longer to shape into other forms, nevertheless do so. As human beings, we have a drive, an inner wish to thrive, learn, and acquire experiences in order to attain wisdom. When growing, many times we step out of our comfort zone to challenge ourselves to be in the unknown. What lies ahead is a new experience that enriches us with something or someone, leading us to feel, see, smell, and hear something new. Our senses are on full alert, figuring out if this is a threat or if we are safe.
Only the wisdom from our past can determine the answer to that as we take in the information and analyze where our decision should lie. At times, we hold onto a past memory, an event that might have seemed like a threat then, as it possibly was, but may not be anymore. We might unconsciously hold onto a belief system without even questioning if it serves us or not. We follow old patterns, an education that was told to us, something we have heard but not seen, information given out that actually creates more fear than any actual reality could ever provoke.
It's when we listen and tune in to an inner voice, a voice that comes from wisdom, a voice that knows to question all and everything before taking it to be true. Our body signals a sensation that dictates behavior, a program that runs alongside our belief system and triggers a reaction stuck in an old paradigm of autopilot, hindering us from advancing and taking risks to learn what might be new.
How do we know when we are out of danger? How do we know that we are making good decisions? We learn to listen. The language of our body will reveal what the internal compass is pointing at. It may be a tingle, a pounding of the heart, a vacuum in the belly, a numbness that leaves us paralyzed, or simply butterflies that give off excitement and joy.
Whatever it is, take a moment to feel them, listen to your inner dialogue. What happened just then? What brought this sensation to the surface for a reaction to take place?
This is the only way we can get to the depth of our program, to know what serves us and what does not. Naturally, we might not get it right; we make mistakes, we repeat old patterns. But when we look back and think of how it feels in the aftermath of it all, we can capture the next moment, bring awareness to this space that is revisited again. We become the observers of how and what; we take risks to dive into the ocean of life and swim with what is presented to us.
It's when we choose to swim upstream, struggle to move, find it harder to breathe, and get pushed back that it becomes clear that it's time to assess if it's worth it or perhaps let the water take over and drift us to where we need to go. And... did I say BREATHE?! Yes, breathe deeply, with full awareness, spreading the oxygen throughout the body to relax any tension caused. It might sound too simple to be true, but in fact, it works! Try it!
(If you want to read and learn more about this topic, I strongly recommend you to do yoga, of course, and see if you can find the book named "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk.)
It's in letting go and losing the grip of an idea of what should be, what could be, that we can choose to surrender and see what this outcome might be.
An invitation to us all: to trust that life takes us where we need to go, to trust that growth can only happen where we are willing and courageous enough to take risks to jump into the unknown.