I'm experiencing a lot of pain and fatigue today. It's the nature of my physical disability, some days have more, some less.
Like the clouds in the sky.
The way we learn to split things up into neat little categories serves a purpose, but can also make us lose sight of all the beauty life brings every moment. Regardless of whether we have pain or whether the sky is cloudy.
Let's take the lotus blossom (pictured) for example.
It's beautiful isn't it? One of the most beautiful things about it, is its journey through the muddy and murky water until it reaches the light.
A pretty solid metaphor for life. Don't you agree?
So when I'm having days like today. Negative thoughts creep in.
Then I remember the lotus. It reminds me that the journey isn't about getting muddy or staying clean.
It isn't about staying happy and avoiding sadness.
The darkness and the light, the pain and the comfort.
These are not forces that are in opposition to one another.
These are aspects of the same thing.
LIFE . . .
To be grateful for one, but not the other is to miss out on so much.
On days like today I don't complain (though it can be tempting).
Instead, I use it to dive deeper into my mindfulness practice.
Deeper into bringing my awareness into my journey through the mud.
Because like the lotus, it isn't without going through the mud that we're able to reach the light.
Namaste.