Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Being Present

In my last post, I included an excerpt which in sum, says to slow down enough to be present and attentive, to struggle against the need to always be doing something. In the last month, I have tried to take the time to do just that, to be more attentive, and to reflect.

When you slow down enough, to feel your heart beating, to hear the ticking clock and murmur of voices blur into the background, there is a space left. Only in that space, can the seeds of awareness grow, can the mind take a breath and reflect, and is the heart left to open up and shed all the pain that you've housed and hidden away.

It is so easy to keep the mind distracted, especially for those of us striving to maintain everything that is outward, professional lives, social lives, and our intimate lives. For the type A, which I admit I am, you want everything, but there is a cost. You want to excel in every part of your life, but there comes a moment when you realize that your efforts to excel can keep you from being happy. You start putting everything and everyone ahead of yourself, you focus on the views of others. Ultimately, you can lose yourself.

Growing up, my biggest concern in life was just getting out of the house. I spent as much time as I could out of the house, away from my mother. I exerted so much energy trying to cope with the destructive environment that I had to wake up and return to every day. Once I entered college, and had successfully separated myself from the grips of my mother, at least physically (although not financially), I was too busy with class, studying, friends, and partying to allow room for much spiritual or emotional growth. Soon after, I went to law school which left even less time to let myself emotionally breath. The idea of creating some sort of space in which to reflect on anything other than cases, rules, and the IRAC method, was simply not in my mind.

I find myself now, trying to look back at the past several years through a new lens. Now armed with the recent revelation that all that my mother did, and continues to do, is neither my fault, nor within my power to change, I am attempting to uncover the scars of old wounds, instead of simply hiding them. I am forcing myself to slow down, to be attentive, and open my heart.





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