In our adrenalin fueled busy world this is no mean feat...especially for a single mum like me:)
However I do surrender to my body as I value it's wisdom and inorder to focus on rest I hired a movie called "The Descendants" with an old favourite of mine...Mr George Clooney.
Life is a mirror and this movie is a fantastic look at the frailities of humanity. There is adrenalin, infidelity, illusion, unruly children and teens,. money. power. greed and the duality of peace. forgiveness. loyalty acceptance, respect and joy with a bit of humor thrown in!
It is about a father who is a lawyer, who is so busy making money and providing above and beyond for the monetary needs of his family who is woken up to the state of dysfunction within his family unit by a serious accident involving his sporty, adrenalin fueled wife. The movie is set in Hawaii and has many important themes in our busy modern day lives. At one point the main character reflects that the members of his family are like the island state of Hawaii ...all separate but functioning under the same identity.
This movie touched me to the core as it so beautifully illustrated the depths of illusion and denial that we can operate in when it comes to having a serious look within. The parts of our actions and attitudes that we disown, often show up in our nearest and dearest...that being our children.
From many ancient teachings... the cycle of life exists in a triangle of build, maintain and destroy.
The first generation build, the second generation maintain and the third generation (if they do not hold the same values) often destroy. It is in the destruction of the old that a new level of understanding and growth can appear. It also cleverly depicts the need to live fully, love fully and let go fully. The third part of the equation requiring introspection and forgiveness.
For me personally, it mirrored my own journey through life. For those that don't know me...My husband and I were adrenalin junkies in another life. Totally for goal setting and pushing ourselves harder, stronger and faster way beyond what often was humanly possible. My husband worked offshore in an adrenalin fuelled industry and when he came home he rode motorbikes...to keep the level of adrenalin going. In balance this is ok...however when have you lost the balance...like a junkie it is very hard to slow down. If you miss the signs, life has a way of bringing you to your knees.
In the cycle of build, maintain and destroy...my husbands motorbike accident, paraplegia with extreme complications and then death two years later has come with extreme pain but also a multitude of blessings.
There is one line in the movie when the George Clooney's character states:
"Goodbye my love, goodbye my pain, goodbye my joy, Goodbye my love"
you will know that emotions are incomplete states of awareness.
You cannot have a pleasure without a pain, or a pain without a pleasure.
For every opportunity there is an opportunity cost.
Grief is an assumption (along with years of conditioning) that who ever or what ever you miss had more benefits that drawbacks. Yet we are sent of of it...the support and the challenge to learn. In reality it is human nature to create a value from a void...so when we don't have something or someone or we are faced with the threat of losing them, we value whatever it is even more.
So today I chose to make an opportunity out of an opportunity cost of being a bit under the weather. I chose to value the guidance system of my physical body and value it's awareness to nurture myself back to health.
YOUR HEALTH and YOUR MINDSET are your biggest assets...The best way to expand the use and effectiveness of your energy is to become more aware of it.
Extreme adrenalin fuelled highs are always accompanied with an extreme low...the difference with the meditative life is your ability to balance and self correct...To have reflective awareness is to be able to shift your mindset out of lopsides emotions and systematically release them. This is the business of Pure Consciousness...you are not only taught the beautiful tool of meditation but also a range of strategies and techniques to create wellness and re align your mindset.
I highly recommend this movie...a beautiful reminder that it doesn't matter what's on paper. A family is made not by a marriage or birth certificate but by the time put in to communicate, understand differences, compromise and reflect on what is working and not working.
A film well worth watching...Namaste
