Last week I was asked to MC a gig in the Domain in Sydney, a big park in the centre of the city.
It’s the place that Homebake is held.
This time though, there was a much different headliner.
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.
Holy snapping tempeh, it was an incredible day.
A few things he spoke of really resonated with me.
In all the points that he made, he kept coming back to the underlying way of the human condition.
In that for light to exist, there must be dark.
For good to exist, there must be bad.
For happy to exist, there must be sad.
Not all the time, but it must be present to maintain balance.
I guess for a long time, all my life in fact, I beat myself up when I’m down.
I get down about being down, and that in turn gets me down.
Quite a spiral once you get in to it.
However, to recognise that there will be a down, in fact it is part of being human to have downs, and to realise that they pass – this was a very powerful lesson.
I had believed for such a long time that it was wrong to feel down/sad/unhappy, and that something’s obvisously very wrong with me to feel that way.
It is a part of the human condition to have these feelings.
What we make them mean, and getting stuck in these feelings is where we come unstuck I guess.
So thanks HHDL (as his name appeared in all of the logisitcal emails I had about the event).
For teaching me that I am human, and much more normal than I made myself believe.
xx aa (feeling ok about not getting off of the couch for two days)
What an amazing experience that must have been for you – I am soooo jealous! A uni lecturer recommended a book to me that you might enjoy too – it’s called “How to Meditate” by Kathleen McDonald. It has beautiful imagery and focuses on great strategies we can all use to manage our emotions…..we budding psychologists are also onto the benefits of HHDL’s wisdom.
Riding the emotional roller coaster from time to time is very human, but having certain skills and knowledge can make it just that little bit easier.
In the meantime, just enjoy your couch to the full!!!
kazxxx
Have you ever noticed that straight after a bout of the doldrums you often emerge with a new sense of perspective and priorities and even a new enthusiasm for life.
I believe these natural downs are natures way of quietening us physically,(on the couch) and mentally so we can take on the next bit life has in store for us.
It’s a bit like the break you have halfway through a run where you collect yourself in readiness for the trip home. Sometimes we mistake these down times as human failure of some sort but really they are necessary for us to succeed in this busy, crazy world.
Pingback: Buy tramadol onine.