Pema Chodron: All the emotions we experience are exactly what we need to be fully human.
Tara Brock: If a vicious dog charges, whistle for it.
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Wanting mind:
Wanting something means I must be lacking, missing out, left behind, incomplete. Intellectually, theoretically, I believe that happiness comes from within, yet here land again--caught up in wanting mind. Fear follows from want. I'm afraid of the hole in my heart, scared that it will never be filled.
Mistake #1: thinking that contentment requires approval (the prize, the guy, publication, tenure).
Solution: Be present. (yada yada, the squirrel interjects)
Practice: Assume this moment is enough exactly as it is. If that's the case I better pay better attention, because part of me doesn't believe it. Value where I already stand and hope to see more clearly who I am.
And until I feel in my heart what I know in my head?
Response and Reaction:
Experiment #1: Notice when fear and wanting affect my actions.
Axiom: Lean into fear rather than run away.
Initial Application: Day of teaching observation. Typically, my work comes before other concerns. Why? I am afraid of losing my job (or not getting tenure). What would I do if I weren't afraid of losing my job? I would go for a quick run instead of reviewing my lecture notes.
Result: I went for a run. The fear was still there--but I just let it hang out with me. Teaching observation went great, but more importantly, I got to enjoy what I have now instead of being scared away by the thought of not getting what I want.
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