Do We Experience Life or Do We Experience the Interruption of It?
Do you feel like you are really experiencing life or are we just responding to life as it unfolds in front of us? If I’m being honest, I think we are usually just responding to the story (or many stories) that we’ve created about what happened. For example, two people can experience the exact same event but then walk away with completely different conclusions about it. While one may see rejection, the other may see a misdirection. When one sees failure, the other may quickly see it as an opportunity to learn. See what I mean? Same event, but how it’s interpreted changes everything.
The way our minds work is pretty incredible. We (our minds included) don’t like unanswered questions. So what do we do? We find an answer. Sometimes it’s right. Sometimes it’s just something to fill in the blanks. How many times have you sent a text message to someone who doesn’t respond and we start to think, “He/She is ignoring me.” Or what if your coworker gets a little irritated with you. Have you had that thought to yourself that maybe they are mad with me for something I said? These types of setbacks can soon become, “Maybe I’m just not good enough.” Even when those setbacks turn into negative thoughts, what’s even crazier is how fast our minds move to those conclusions.
Our problem is that we interpret life or try and make interpretations about it. That’s something we all do. The problem becomes when we don’t pause long enough to recognize that an interpretation isn’t always what it seems. Consider that it is not necessarily the truth. This is how and where awareness steps in.
Awareness creates space between what just happened and the meaning we want to assign to it. When we are in that space, our curiosity of what true mean is in that moment is replaced by certainty. Instead of naturally heading to trying to find alternative explanations, when many times, there genuinely is, we head to convenience. Sometimes it is what it is. But when we flip the coin and try to find the undercover truth, we can change the entire landscape of that experience.
Here in Kind Rebirths, I have never been about pretending difficult things don’t happen that cause us to act with urgency and expediency. Life happens and it happens really fast. I know you can’t control every event, nor can you control how they play out. But I am all about recognizing the stories that we tell ourselves about circumstances. Maybe our greatest freedom isn’t found in trying to change the outcome of every situation. Perhaps it’s about recognizing that we don’t have accept things at “face value” all the time or the interpretation immediately given by our minds. When we aren’t experiencing life, we’re only experiencing an interpretation of it. Let that realization rebirth you in hopes that you begin to see your life differently.
Stay mindful…
Rebirth.
