Inflexibility

I am aging and my body is losing its flexibility gradually. My mind is going the same way and I guess this is perhaps true in the case of many of you. Some of us do our best to keep ourselves in the best physical shape possible by living, exercising and eating sensibly. While body inflexibility leaps off the page and get our immediate attention, our mind rigidity creeps up on us. We are often completely oblivious to a distracted, biased mind till the very end. We stress about our values, goals, and version of reality and deal only with things that we are comfortable with. We refuse to flow with the universe and this leads to anger and frustration and we keep blowing gaskets like it is the only game in town.  

The signs of inflexibility are very obvious to others but most people choose to believe a kinder and gentler version of themselves regardless of the facts. Our minds are hopelessly colonized by calcified opinions and prejudices. Our anger, irritation, sadness are the products of our inflexible mind as we continue to cling to our own distorted reality.  

 I started practicing mindful living a while ago and have lately been using the ‘quite’ time to do some self-introspection. Someone very wisely said that meditation is just a practice. We must live ‘meditatively’ all the time and that is what keeps us grounded and not the 30 minute mediation sessions!

I am able to slowly recognize and accept weaknesses in me and areas where I need help. Initially, I did not know how to go about identifying the weaknesses in me but soon latched on to the idea of seeing the effects of the causes created by me. The fruits of my labor tell me a lot about how I tilled the land.   

I am now trying to intuit and learn more about what is going on when I see evidence of mild turbulence in my little world. People at times are looking at me with raised eyebrows and seem to be asking ‘are you serious? This intuiting business is not easy, believe me. Your mind is so biased and pre-conditioned and letting go of the idea that you are infallible, at least temporarily, is like spitting into a gale wind lashing at you.  I have kicked many a cans down the road in the past but am not turning my back on this one for sure. I don’t know if this exercise is a bridge too far for me but I must get this monkey off my back and sooner the better. When I know my weaknesses, I will be a stronger person.