Life is not a problem to be solved,
but a reality to be experienced.
-Soren Kierkegaard
but a reality to be experienced.
-Soren Kierkegaard
Life is often approached or seen as one big problem or series of problems to deal with or solve. All the "buckets" in your life:-relationship, work, family, health to name a few- may seem to contain their own unique problems that require solutions. Complaints abound as life feels like an unfair series of exhausting challenges, a puzzle that is difficult or impossible to solve.
Is problem-solving mode your default approach to life? Is that really all there is to life?
This reminds me of the saying about stopping to smell the roses. So often you may not see the roses, let alone stop to smell them, as you focus on problems that urgently need to be solved. This is not to say that there are not problems or difficult circumstances in life.
Yet, if the focus is on what isn't working or what needs to be improved, there is very little emotional, mental and physical space for experiencing whatever is happening in your life. There is always a judgement going on about whether it is good or bad, whether it is moving you forward or not. Life becomes like a mathematical that has an answer, if only you can find it.
How would it be to be open to the experience of whatever is happening, beginning with an experience of the sun (or wind and coolness) on your skin, the birds singing, the beauty of the flowers and trees that are everywhere? What would it be like to be curious about your thoughts and feelings, to notice them without judgement or urgency. What would it be like to feel the sensations in your body with interest and curiosity whether they are comfortable or uncomfortable? Can you imagine how this way of experiencing life ( even if only for brief moments at first) is truly precious and might mitigate the view of life as a problem to be solved?
Is problem-solving mode your default approach to life? Is that really all there is to life?
This reminds me of the saying about stopping to smell the roses. So often you may not see the roses, let alone stop to smell them, as you focus on problems that urgently need to be solved. This is not to say that there are not problems or difficult circumstances in life.
Yet, if the focus is on what isn't working or what needs to be improved, there is very little emotional, mental and physical space for experiencing whatever is happening in your life. There is always a judgement going on about whether it is good or bad, whether it is moving you forward or not. Life becomes like a mathematical that has an answer, if only you can find it.
How would it be to be open to the experience of whatever is happening, beginning with an experience of the sun (or wind and coolness) on your skin, the birds singing, the beauty of the flowers and trees that are everywhere? What would it be like to be curious about your thoughts and feelings, to notice them without judgement or urgency. What would it be like to feel the sensations in your body with interest and curiosity whether they are comfortable or uncomfortable? Can you imagine how this way of experiencing life ( even if only for brief moments at first) is truly precious and might mitigate the view of life as a problem to be solved?
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