Artwork: Mark Rothko
Good morning beautiful people,
I hope you are doing well and starting this new year conscious about what nourishes you; taking the daily steps towards what supports you, and finally letting go of what no longer serves you.
Change is not an easy one for some, especially when we are set in our ways and buy into the belief that we are not strong enough to stay the course. I guess being human comes with taking two steps forward and one backward, but as long as we keep going at it, doing a daily inventory of what gives us strength and humility, questioning what feels off and with compassion, doing what it takes to keep readjusting our ways, there is room for change, healthy living and joy in our life.
Aristotle said: “ Through Discipline comes Freedom.”
Do you think it’s true?
It seems amazing to imagine that such opposite words would create the desired effect (i.e. freedom) for most of us. So why does our mind so easily convinces us to let go of self empowering habits, dropping at some point what would strengthen our overall muscular system, inside and out?
There are a lot of answers that I can come up with, mostly time and energy related, but the truth is that the mind is a master at coming up with excuses, often comparing our ways to the ones of others, feeling a range of sensations that we can interpret as “inferior” or “superior”, all ego based answers, changing with the weather and unaware of what nourishes us at our core.
Talking about core, I got to spell it right this week:) Though chore is often the burden we feel when we want to let go of a strengthening habit that our mind deems unnecessary at some point.
So my wish for all of us this week, is that we keep at it, coming back to our center, to what nourishes us beyond our wildest dreams.
If you would like to know more about this practice, you are welcome to join for a group meditation in Brussels on Tuesday January 21st. You can also join us online. More info on the events page. I am not recording a guided meditation this week, and in case you need a calming voice to guide you in your meditation, I can recommend my teacher, Tara Brach and her amazing podcast. She is the master of compassion, and I am a work in progress.
Hope to see you soon, and don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with me.
With Love and Respect,
Vanessa
