Doesn’t it feel great to stretch the body to get the kinks out? We generally do this when we wake up or have been sitting still for a while. You need only think of a cat or dog rising from a leisurely rest to relate.
Now reflect on where in your life you can stretch yourself to grow. Is there one area where you are still ‘rigid’? For example do you have to have the same breakfast at the same time every day, or go to the same places all the time? While having a routine in place creates a sense of stability it can create limitations.
How can you tell if you’re too rigid, or have room to stretch?
- You can tell you are attached to a structure when you experience fear, doubt, anger or resentment where change is threatened.
- You feel various degrees of anxiety or nervousness, and find it difficult to be impulsive.
- The people around you may be anxious themselves, wondering if they are going to do something wrong, as they try to accommodate your needs without knowing what those needs are.
Your job is to share your needs gracefully, and stop expecting others to read your mind. Stretch yourself to try new ways of interacting and living. Learning to express our wants, desires and needs is an important step for spiritual stretching. While these are seated in egoism, they are fundamental components of our human experience. By expressing our true desires and needs, we stretch ourselves beyond the confines of isolation which are built up through the conditioning of life experiences, of our expectation that others will judge us as inadequate, or that we are not worthy of sharing our inner self.
Each of us is wants, desires and needs to feel safe, and comfortable in all social environments. This summer stretch your mind, emotions, thoughts, and actions to expand and grow. Try something different or new. Notice how you feel in the process of making those changes – your thoughts, physical feelings, emotions and even how those around you respond. Clear the fear that holds you hostage by creating a false sense of security or stability. It may be challenging at first, but once transcended life simply gets easier. Go for it. Live, laugh and love, Regina
