Past Friday we contemplated on how unpleasant encounters, situations and thoughts could be our greatest teachers by changing the perspective towards what we can learn about ourselves in all that. 

Past week at yoga we came across this quote from Ken Keyes Jr: 

To be upset over what you don't have...

is to waste what you do have.

Past year we did not think that by now we'd still miss out on what we used to know by the virus raging on our planet.  But here we go - most of us still cannot travel as we wish, be with the people we'd like to be with, pursue our hobbies or leisure the way we prefer or dine with or where we love to. 

Spending our time thinking about this might make us even sadder and all sorts of unwanted emotions might crop up. There is so much we don't have right now. And yes, it is totally ok to acknowledge that. It is totally ok to acknowledge what you feel. Write it in a journal if you like or tell you friend over the phone or your companion while you’re walking. And then... change your perspective to gratitude. 

This week in yoga, I shared the following words as contemplation for the day:

"The things that excite you are not random,

they are connected to your purpose.

- What excites you?

I did some contemplation on that myself and was suddenly reminded on how I came to yoga. Rummaging in the attic of my parent's home, I found a yoga book. Nobody had ever talked to me about yoga and I had not heard about - this happened nearly 40 years ago... I clearly remember reading the story of a woman in the foreword of the book.

Lots of change is happening constantly nowadays. The only constant seems to be change. This means we need to think lots, make decisions and deal with our emotions. Our mind might be racing after we read the newspaper, we notice we are distracted instead of getting on with whatever it is we wanted to do.

It is understandable! You are not alone. Your brain is behaving in a way human brain have been trained by evolution for thousands of years. However, our brains need a rest (physical), our minds need a rest (emotional). 

When you feel your mind is racing, but you had other plans, here is a simple mindfulness technique to bring you back to the present moment. In the present moment, we do not worry. That is something reserved for the unknown future or the already gone past. 

“Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.” Walt Disney

Have you ever stayed in a sour mood when things went wrong?

When that glass slipped out of your hand and made a mess, when that project did not go to plan, when you did not get that parking spot, ...

What creates the suffering is not the actual thing that happened - because mostly those things actually do not impact our life in a big or long lasting way. It is the emotions of guilt, shame, disappointment, frustration, etc. that makes it so impactful.

Stuff happens, some things we can control, others we can not. What we ultimately have within our control is what we think and how we react. It might need practice to change the pattern though!

Scientists have started to map the biological basis of compassion, suggesting its deep evolutionary purpose. This research has shown that when we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down, we secrete the “bonding hormone” oxytocin, and regions of the brain linked to empathy, caregiving,and feelings of pleasure light up, which often results in our wanting to approach and care for other people.

Human babies are the most vulnerable offspring on the face of the Earth. And that simple fact changed everything. It rearranged our social structures, building cooperative networks of caretaking, and it rearranged our nervous systems. We became the super caregiving species, to the point where acts of care improve our physical health and lengthen our lives. We are born to be good to each other.