10/16/2023
Monday meditation: I have an obligation — to the world — to improve myself, inside and out.
“If we do not work to clarify our thoughts, perceptions, and feelings, we wind up moving through the world enclosed in an isolated bubble that leaves in its wake alienation, harm, and dissatisfaction. We have a moral obligation to the entire ecological web of existence to wake up from self-pity, self-promotion, and self-centeredness in order to attend to our place in the world with sensitivity and wisdom.” So says Michael Stone in “The Inner Tradition of Yoga.”
I had a bad day on Sunday. That’s why I’m thinking about this today.
Yoga is a discipline. Which means I have to keep at it.
Every. Damn. Day.
This lesson also has to do with karma — or as Stone writes, “The past is encoded in the present.” Action always has an effect: “Previous experience influences present experience, and what we do in the present influences the way we experience the future.”
That was so true for me yesterday.
I had a rough morning. My mistake almost resulted in hurting myself as well as someone else. I was horrified I had misjudged the scenario — and subsequently, spiraled into a stupor for the next several hours, contemplating what I should have done.
There were some things I may have done differently in action, but first and foremost, I should have heeded my gut instinct. I think I ignored that inside voice because I was too eager appease my ego.
But I made things worse. A little later in the day, that negative (past) mindset affected my current (present) mindset. Mired in self-criticism and self-pity, I over-reacted to something, which created another negative cycle, affecting other people as well.
The thing is, I knew early on that I should have detached myself from the disappointment I felt. That’s the Law of Detachment and, indeed, I did try to shake that feeling. But my mind still clung to that sense of judgment, even when I told myself that it was serving no one. In this case, though, it wasn’t only a disservice to me.
So here I am to remind you, take care of yourself (your mind and body) — NOT ONLY for yourself, but those in your world as well. We have a “moral obligation” to do so, as Michael Stone explained above. That self-reflection and self-improvement will make the world *exponentially* better. Personally, that openness and calmness is what I want to leave in my wake.
