Breathe In, Breathe Out. Release.
Posted by djocean on July 1, 2008
Let others take their own way, and I take my own.
Japanese proverb
Modern society bombards us with ridiculous amounts of information, both relevant and irrelevant. So when it comes to navigating our way through this life, we have to be able to look at what is being presented to us so that we can take what we need and release the rest.
With so much happening in the world around us, it is easy to become distracted from our individual paths and we need to work to figure out what is important to us. Once we learn how to do this, life becomes much easier.
The world’s greatest philosopher/teachers believed that carrying fruitless burdens of the mind ultimately stops us from achieving our real desires and dreams and to overcome this reality, we must free ourselves from useless thoughts and concepts. To do this, you must understand that this is your experience and yours alone. Once you realize that you control what goes on inside your head, you can begin deciphering what is really applicable to you.
If this sounds like a difficult task, especially when you consider how we are inundated with promotional campaigns that tell us how we are supposed to look and act, don’t give up hope. In fact, re-double your efforts to find out whether or not these qualities truly define your very being.
Don’t be afraid, you are not alone in trying to free your mind and separate yourself from the rest of the pack. The most interesting people on this planet walk to the drummer’s of their own beat and they don’t care whether people around them understand them or not. The more you figure out what works for you, the more genuine you will become in everything you do. This honest interaction with the rest of the world will give you a newfound clear-headedness that will enable you to see the world in a whole new light and it may put you on a path to self-fulfillment.
Be a scientist of your experience. Take notes. Look, listen, and learn from everyone and everything that comes across your path. Make sure to realize that what works for you might not work for someone else and that there is a beauty in that. Who the hell wants to live in the Valley of the Dolls or a world filled with Stepford Wives where everyone acts the same? It is our individualism and our beliefs that make us unique.
By consciously examining your experience, you will quickly learn what truths you must follow to be happy and although it sounds strange and may appear to be contradictory to what we have been told throughout most of our lives, there is freedom in learning what confines you. You have to learn how to play by the rules in order to learn how to break them. Once we let go of our negative thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, we are then free to let our true essence come to the forefront of our being and enjoy the happiness that comes with it.
