When Life Takes An Unexpected Turn

There are times in this life when you are tested for strength and not the physical kind, but the mental.  A dear friend of mine three years ago was standing against those tests in time and chose to take his own life.  Felt too much pressure from family, career, and the community that he belonged to, from a life he created.  I witnessed the pain that he left behind, it was cowardly and selfish.  That type of pressure can only be described when going through some major life changes, when life takes that unexpected turn.

It is not the direction of the turn that shocks our system or world, but the turn itself.  It is important to look beyond the turn and look at the new direction ahead, picture it as a new journey.  As a direction that will lead you to your goals in life, to accomplishing those intentions that you may have set in the past.

Let's use golf or car racing as an example.  A golfer is looking at the ball at all times, even when they are swinging the club to drive the ball down the green, but what if they didn't calculate the wind speed, if they hit the ball with too much power, or if they were just having a bad day, they still focus their gaze on where they want and hope the ball should land.  They constantly rebuild strength knowing that there are more holes or tournaments ahead.  As for car racers, they are looking beyond the turn to rev it up on the next straight away to chose which of the many gears they need to use in order to make the turn and power through it.

As humans, when life takes a turn, we too must look at the path beyond the turn, so that we are not consumed with the turn itself.  Allowing ourselves to build the strength we need to power through it and continue on this journey called life.  Reminding ourselves that the turns in life are all teachable moments, and you never know when a sharp turn can lead you back to your goals and to a journey of self discovery.

Trust yourself and the course you are taking in this life, and know that there are always turns.  How will you handle the next turn in this life? Are we grateful to those that cheer us on during the turn that may jolt us back into reality?

Namaste.

The Meaning of Self Worth

As I was meditating and focusing on the light in my heart center in a yoga and meditation class I attended today, my mind was focusing on the word self worth.  A very special person in my life and one of my greatest teachers used to always ask me “what is your self worth?”

Those two words bore into my psyche and I can honestly say that it took me a while to define the meaning of self worth.  According to Collins English Dictionary, self worth is “respect for or a favorable opinion of one self.”  It is a mix of self esteem and self respect.

To me, self worth, is the ability to balance acts of service (service defined as work, family, career, or community).  It is a balance of knowing when to give in kind and when to add a value to what you are providing.  It takes both self esteem and self respect to identify the appropriate times to add value.  As people, we run on energy, whether it is the energy from within or the energy that we share with others.  That energy is what drives us to give, to work, to achieve our goals.  Our energy provides the fuel to develop a strong self esteem and self respect, which essentially gives us the ability to define our self worth.

For example, I know from experience that people will continue to take as long as you continue to offer, whether it is the great energy you exute, your expertise, your ability to love, or your resources (time and money).  Eventually that energy may subside or you may forget who you were as a person when you started this trend of giving.  At which point you realize that you have lost strength in believing in yourself and as a result you lost opportunities to define your self worth.  Life is a balance of give and take, whether in love, at work, at home, or in any interpersonal communication interaction.  So, let’s remember that our self worth is our ability to balance our acts of service and know our value to the world, while maintaining the strength of our self esteem and self confidence.

By no means am I saying in this blog to stop giving or to hinder your beautiful ability of influencing those around you with your great energy.  I am merely asking, “what is your self worth?” and how will you develop your ability to balance your acts of service in this lifetime?

Let's meet on the mat at your next meeting or event. Check out www.themeetingyogi.com for more information or email bana@themeetingyogi.com.

Namaste.