Your Unlikely Route To Clarity.
Turbulence comes in many forms. It might be the womp of an unbudgeted tax demand, the thwack of a role or company failing, or the wham of a relationship stuttering to a standstill.
Or it might just be the drift, drift, drift of the already long road wearing you down.
Last week I wrote about the second arrow, teaching borrowed from the Buddha on dealing with the above and much else besides. Suffering, as he'd call it. The short story goes like this:
Shit happens.
It hurts.
And then we fuss, meddle, ruminate, sticking our fingers into the metaphorical scab of the first arrow.
This finger stabbing is the second arrow; taking an already painful event and multiplying by ten, hundred or more.
There are simple teachings which help mitigate - the three R’s (as we practise over at LeanMind) for one: Roots. Rhythm. Ritual.
More on that another time.
Today we're talking an unlikely salvation to the second arrow tendency. One a little polarizing, contentious. Goes by the name of the Big Guy. Yahwey. God.
Sit right. Run not.
This not an invitation to the Church of Ben, as cool as that might be.
It's an invitation to perspective.
Heard a great podcast the other week. Two academics, one Huberman, debating God. Well, less debating, as it's an unanswerable question, as they explain better than me. More discussing the myriad benefits of believing, of faith and rituals - whatever shape or flavour yours.
Turns out your health and happiness ticks up in many real and scientifically observed ways when you believe and trust in something bigger than you.
Which in a roundabout way brings up all the way back to the womp, thwack and wham of the above mentioned crises - and our wish for clarity and relief amid the second arrow tendency.
When the unrelenting waves batter us down, it can feel suffocating. We need space, a gap for air, to catch a moment before we finger in that second arrow scab. That space and clarity you crave, that too a gift of faith.
The Big Guy And Your Gaps For Air.
The divine is a beautiful word, meaning 'of God' (not a choccy bar, as modern marketing would have us believe).
It's a late summer day here. Teetering on the edge of an autumn transition. The sun shines, the leaves green (just), the air warm.
And yet…the world undeniably turns, spins. Abundance today, rest tomorrow, and so the cycle goes.
We are plugged into, and part of, something much bigger than you or I.
Find Your Divine
Divine is a beautiful word. Meaning 'of god' - not a choccy bar, as modern marketing would have us believe.
There is far less reactivity, need to fix, manage and cajole when we trust and believe in something bigger than you and me, whatever that might mean for you.
There is divine wonder and beauty all around. Open to it. Appreciate. Be it in nature. Or the little things - a conversation here, a sea dip there. Trust in and taste the divine.
Science tells us it'll make your life better. And putting to over to the Big Guy, to an appreciation of the divine, helps you react less and trust more.
It's a fast track to the clarity you crave, particularly when the storms rage.
So, tell me - what does the divine mean to you?