We live in a society that has an undercurrent of belief that mental wellbeing is something that is difficult to acquire, hard to maintain and should be guarded at all costs. Protecting ourselves from circumstance takes energy and effort and can take the form of withdrawing from contact with others, to putting on a brave face, or even being someone we think the world wants rather than being ourselves. From where I’m looking I can see a grain of truth in this innocent belief but, find it fundamentally flawed. I believe being open to connect with anyone is the core of our own wellbeing and can help those around us realise theirs too, and I’d like to explain why.
Currently we tend to believe that our experience is buffeted by external circumstances: the state of our health, our ability to pay bills, our relationships at work and at home… at times the combination of these factors can feel overwhelming. However, despite these potentially unpleasant or life changing circumstances, have you ever noticed that some people rise above their circumstance and occasionally seem to fly! How can that be…
I believe our welling is unbreakable! In fact I count on that fact in every moment. I share it with my family, friends and clients to help them see the simplicity behind our design. Now I know that’s a very bold statement, but here me out. If our wellbeing was affected by external circumstances then no one would rise above them and fly, we would all be susceptible to trials and tribulations of life. From where I stand it looks subtly different. Our experience of life is always coming through the filter of our thoughts and that our thoughts create the feelings and emotions that we experience [ie inside out]. When we don’t see the world this way it seems logical to look to attribute, or blame the circumstances for our experience [ie outside in].
I’d like you to think on that for a moment… just wonder if you can see an element of truth in that with anything that feels painful and difficult at the moment. Is it the “thing” (insert relationship break up, cost of living crisis, global instability etc) that causes the discomfort or is it your thinking in the moment?
So what? Are we all the author and playwrights of our own misery? Sort of, but this is where things get exciting! When we know and understand that all human experience – yours, mine your arch enemies – is coming through the lens of their own thinking [inside out] our awareness shifts and we take what is being said or done way less personally. We also tend to accept what is in the moment. I don’t mean to say that we have to like, or put up with it, but what we experience in any moment is all there is. If we resist, deny or wish it away we our only doing that with the power of thought, and with that comes the discomfort of denying what is happening.
When we know within our core that our wellbeing is unbreakable, despite how we might feel in the moment. When we trust in our awareness that that is true for everyone else as well, no matter how they might be showing up. When we accept what is happening in the moment is all there is before our thoughts quickly and innocently create a future scenario. Well, that’s when we trust ourselves to be ourselves in every moment. Yes, we might feel a little vulnerable at first – that’s just our thinking trying to protect us – but being comfortable to be ourselves in every moment is us living from our unbreakable wellbeing.
I’m sure you know people in your life that your comfortable to be with but can’t put your finger on why. I’m sure you’ve also had the experience of feeling like that in a conversation with stranger or someone you fleetingly pass in the street. What’s happening there? Those people, in that moment, are living from that place of wellbeing and that is being recognised by your unbroken wellbeing; which is why you smile without thinking about it and feel at ease.
So as we embark on Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 please remember that you are all more than enough for the moment you find yourselves in. Remember that your awareness or belief that everyone’s wellbeing us unbreakable will help you accept things in the moment. The simplicity of this knowledge is what allows us to be ourselves, unfiltered, in the moment, allowing us to connect with anyone… and that connection can be as little as a smile that acknowledges someone else… and that could make their day. Just imagine what could happen if everyone on the planet saw the truth in the simplicity of this profound message!
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