Hello everyone! So I'm back from a week of bliss in the Spanish sunshine and since being back, things haven't quite been the same. The typical beach holiday I thought I would have, spending my time soaking up the sun and trying to get the best tan possible, turned into something I didn't expect- a time for reflection and self discovery. Two prominent aims that have inspired me to write this post.
"It was at this point that I realised I should stop worrying about what people think."
On my first night we were getting ready to go for dinner on the beautiful beach, and of course as I usually would, I put on a flamboyant, bright dress, hair done and make-up top notch. Whilst walking along the sea front, I couldn't help but realise that everybody looked at me with curiosity. Everybody seemed to be chilling, relaxed, comfortable in a simple Tee or floaty fabrics, flip flops, with the beautiful breeze sweeping through they're wavy beach hair; sun glistening on fresh faced women with no makeup. A sea of confidence. It was at this point that I realised I should stop worrying about what people think. Be bold enough to express who you are without covering up features you dislike the most, the features that make you, you. So, of course the next night I rocked up to the beach in a Tee, sports shorts, salty sea hair scraped into a bun and nothing on my face but my holy grail- Vaseline.
For the first time, I felt relaxed, comfortable, quite relieved (no bathroom trips needed to be made to top up my makeup). Free.
On the last day of my holiday, I realised that going home was the last thing I wanted to do. Of course I wanted to see my beautiful family, but I couldn't help but be drawn into the little bubble I'd been in for the past week. As soon as my plane landed in the UK, stress and silly worries had taken over again. It was then that I realised that I needed something; an escape or an energy to eradicate my worries (as I've always been a little worrier anyway) and feel the same freedom, content and euphoria I felt in Spain.
I had always been quite spiritual anyway and believed that everything happens for a reason, that there was something out there to believe in, although I'd never truly attached myself to a religion or set of beliefs .
When in Waterstones, I decided to buy two books. One called 'Buddhism is not what you think: finding freedom beyond beliefs' by Steve Hagen and 'The Little Book of Buddhism' by one of the greatest spiritual leaders of out time, Dalai Lama. Of course, the books cannot teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about Buddhism, but I thought trying to read them would shed a little light on the way I have been feeling and help me find the escape I needed.
"Buddhism is not about finding an escape, it's about awakening your mind, so you can accept and understand the reality".
Steve Hagen has opened up my mind to a few of the wise beliefs of Buddhism, using their teachings alongside everyday scenarios to bring life into perspective. When trying to conger an image of the Buddhist teaching of Reality, Hagen enlightens us with a Zen (the value of meditation and intuition rather than ritual worship or study of scriptures) story about a boy who thought he had stepped on a frog in the dark, and was filled with regret and guilt. He later went back in the morning and found that he had not stepped on a frog, but on an overripe eggplant, and his confusion and guilt stopped.
Hagen states that "We often think we know things when in fact it's only our imagination taking us further and further away from what is actually happening. What we imagine then seems very real to us, Soon we're caught up in our imaginary longings and loathings.
But if you're here- truly present- you realise there's nothing to run from or go after. You can stay calm, even if you did accidentally step on a frog. Just be with this moment and see what's going on. Know your own mind."
"In just such a moment- at the sight of a squashed fruit, at the sound of a pebble striking wood, at the sight of a morning star- any of us can awaken. Nothing holds us back but our thought."
This wise Buddhist teaching has made me realise that Buddhism is not about finding an escape, it's about awakening your mind, so you can accept and understand the reality. We should not fear the unknown, events that may have happened in the past or could happen in the future. See what is going on now, because every moment we are evolving, developing into a new person- the person you want to be. Accepting the reality for what it is rather than finding an escape or a way round it, can eradicate silly fears and worries that hindered you from doing what you want to do. A peaceful mind. A free mind, on the pathway to awakening.
As the book has gone on, I can't quite believe I hadn't explored Buddhism before. Some of the teachings have fabricated answers to questions and reasons to situations that I've always had in my mind. After reading it the first night I bought it, I woke up feeling different. But a good different. I didn't feel worried or scared anymore, and I'm excited to open my mind even more to the world of Buddhism.
I would recommend reading books about Buddhism or just trying to increase your awareness of it, because it's not about binding yourself to a lifetime of religion, but teaching you to see the world and experience it in a different way to what you normally would. It's a pathway to a content, free and settled mind- exactly what I've been looking for! I will be doing some more posts on things I learn on my way to inspire others, just as Buddhism has inspired me.
No comments:
Post a Comment