Originally posted on Facebook HERE
Nothing I ever do is good enough for me. The little man in my head is always telling me I could do more – I could be healthier, I could be wealthier, I could be smarter, happier, more present, more organized, etc, etc, etc… I have a very strong ego presence that is relentless in its pursuit of perfection. By “ego presence”, I’m just talking about our mind, the supercomputer within that is programmed to narrate our lives. Left unchecked it will take over and start making decisions for us, that might not always be in our best interest. “Do more, be more, you’re no good at this, nobody likes you, my God man get to a gym”… the mind often isn’t kind. The mind also isn’t us. It is not who we are. It’s our pain in the ass lifetime companion that has many essential uses, but also critiques every move we make with the most skeptical of eyes. If anyone ever talked to you the way you talk to yourself, would you still be friends? And – how many people are in your head, anyway? Talk to yourself? You need two, right? You’re trying to convince yourself to do something? Two people. The ego and the soul. Inside each of us resides the part that is timeless. The part that existed before we got here and will exist after we physically leave this planet. That part has a calm, timeless wisdom that we can tap into, but how often do we do that? We have the ego blabbing at us 24 hours a day, right? Can’t shut it off, ever. How often do we seek to get in touch with our souls? You’d think at least once a day, right?… right?… is that what you’re doing? Do all the things that are stressing you out really mean anything in the long run, or is your ego making a mountain out of what equates to an existential molehill? I’m also a creature of routine – big time. I like doing the same thing every day, always. Same breakfast, same lunch basically every day for many, many years now. Write three pages – every day. Read 10+ minutes – every day. I really believe that we need to create space in our lives for health in some aspect, every day. Writing and reading every day improves my mental outlook. I also try to do something physical every day as well – running, yoga, strength training, walking the dog… move. Every day. Because a body in motion tends to stay in motion, but once we start to rest and that becomes a habit… especially when we’re resting with a bucket of ice cream, some Oreos and a pie… our health will suffer. And the physical and mental sides both need attention. Every day. Because the crazy person who chatters on inside our head all day – who we’d unfriend on Facebook if they were a real person – will take over unless we get ourselves focused on health. That crazy person – the id (or Mr. Id as I call him) is relentless and will never be satisfied. Ever. And what we really need is to always be satisfied. No matter what. Our souls know this. Everything is amazing. Those clouds?… amazing. The kids in that field playing soccer?… incredible. Fingernails?… wow. Everything is amazing and we’re so deep into our own bullshit we fail to see the wonder and beauty of every moment. Reflect on that in peace today and see what a gift we have here, then instead of taking the most precious gift we have – life – for granted, start taking time every day to keep it bright and shiny. Staying healthy is no joke. It takes effort. Your ego will never be satisfied. But the real you that you are stands behind it all in amazement at even being here at all. We will be kinder and more loving as a society when we learn to be kinder and more loving to ourselves first 🙂
