May 2013

We want the new, but are stuck in the old…Why?

Why is it so hard to let go? Why do we return to our old habits and automatic ways of thinking, feeling, or being? We work hard to heal old wounds, but they keep returning with new faces. What is the story?

The story is us. The story is our inability to change. To put it plainly, it is easier to keep being the old way. We may not like it, but it is familiar.

Taking a stand to be different can be difficult. You have to be different. Ask yourself every time you start something out of habit, “Do I want to be this way, do this, or think this?”

It can seem easier to accept what you deem unacceptable than it is to dig deep to find the courage and discipline to choose to be different.

The concept of mastery applies here. What is the meaning of mastery? It is the ability to make oneself. We decide to be a master, to undertake the path of mastery. If you ‘make your self’ you practice until you embody the new path you have chosen, until you are the new way.

Mastery exists only in the present moment, and it does take practice. It is key that this path is undertaken without a singular achievement in mind; it is about changing your patterns for the sake of growth not hoping for a specific outcome.

Mastery is an unending journey. It has peaks and plateaus, but never ends. With time, a master is able to fully embody their path so it is a natural way of being. To reach this state, continuous commitment is required. Although this sounds difficult, look at a master’s face, reflected in it is their state of serenity.

Choose to practice being different. It’s okay if you are not different right away, it will take time and practice. In time you will become the unhurried rhythms; focusing on the process and not the product. Once you find this path, you will want to stay on it. Then suddenly the old ways will be gone, and you have become the new!

Next month we will dive deeper into the topic of self-mastery!

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