This being human
“Humans are funny things. They seem to be constantly searching for external happiness when they need look no further than inside themselves.”
I enjoyed this quote from a student of ours when we were talking together about relationships. It succinctly sums up how we can easily miss the actual one that would make a big difference, looking instead and repeatedly in all the wrong places for that “feel good” factor, that’s often quick to come, quick to go.
It begs the question: “Why don’t we do it?”
The hard to swallow truth is that we’ve mostly learnt to avoid, deny or run away from the experience of vulnerability felt in the body, often a buried part of us that we have not exposed to scrutiny or kindness; perhaps a sensation of hollowing or emptying or an uncomfortable tightening somewhere inside us that manifests in obvious moments of escalating tension but also the more obscure.
A “stiff upper lip” approach down the generations has not done us any favours when it comes to learning and valuing emotional literacy and curiosity about embodied inquiry. Instead it can appear to be an easy fix to succumb to habits that make us temporarily feel at ease….but the impact is never long lasting and so we can develop patterns that keep us prisoners of our own unconscious making.
This begs the question: “What can we do about this condition of being human?”
Well, there is a long answer, but the short one is I am reminded of a reply a 10 year old student gave me when I asked what he had learnt so far:
“Yoga is like a second home.
I can feel myself.
I can look after my mental health and my wellbeing.”
It’s moments like this that the future for being human feels full of promise and hope.
“Humans are funny things. They seem to be constantly searching for external happiness when they need look no further than inside themselves.”
I enjoyed this quote from a student of ours when we were talking together about relationships. It succinctly sums up how we can easily miss the actual one that would make a big difference, looking instead and repeatedly in all the wrong places for that “feel good” factor, that’s often quick to come, quick to go.
It begs the question: “Why don’t we do it?”
The hard to swallow truth is that we’ve mostly learnt to avoid, deny or run away from the experience of vulnerability felt in the body, often a buried part of us that we have not exposed to scrutiny or kindness; perhaps a sensation of hollowing or emptying or an uncomfortable tightening somewhere inside us that manifests in obvious moments of escalating tension but also the more obscure.
A “stiff upper lip” approach down the generations has not done us any favours when it comes to learning and valuing emotional literacy and curiosity about embodied inquiry. Instead it can appear to be an easy fix to succumb to habits that make us temporarily feel at ease….but the impact is never long lasting and so we can develop patterns that keep us prisoners of our own unconscious making.
This begs the question: “What can we do about this condition of being human?”
Well, there is a long answer, but the short one is I am reminded of a reply a 10 year old student gave me when I asked what he had learnt so far:
“Yoga is like a second home.
I can feel myself.
I can look after my mental health and my wellbeing.”
It’s moments like this that the future for being human feels full of promise and hope.
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