We should tend to the things close to our heart Animals, plants People Dreams Our well-being Even if it all disappears one day It isn’t for nothing Our caring and cultivation has made us and overtime have shaped us into the People we have become This is what we will keep for eternity Not the forms that have taken shape As a result of our care But the very generosity Radiated from the heart
I think for most of us, there is an internal bias between spontaneity and self discipline. I don’t know about you but I have been playing around with my own schedule in life of finding the sweet spot between not feeling like I am a result of life’s circumstances, making unintentional decisions and being the master of my own destiny, my own ship. Both of these are big statements but so far in my own personal life, I had to learn gradually about how to slow down my fast mind and to be in my body so that I can focus on my life unfolding in front of me.
Some of us are either going completely in one direction or another. Working in a company to deliver projects on time and in the remainder of my time, creating as a poet and artist has made me recognise the value of both spontaneity and self discipline.
Projects get completed when there is a rough finish line to aim towards; it teaches us to get organised and prioritise on what is really important. At the same time, creating and being inspired to create is not and cannot always be a planned thing. Yes, we need the discipline to sit down and show up- whether it is in front of a blank page, a blank canvas or whatever form of medium we create in; to show up on a regular basis so we can grow and develop as artists.
Yet, as a creator, we also need to be spontaneous. To be ready to be swept off our feet with inspiration when it hits us. No matter the time nor the day, when the calls arrive from our muse, we need to be ready to go along the ride with her, instead of saying, “No, this isn’t the best time.”
I want to break down the subject of our anchors here as a basis of living our daily lives. An anchor is an object that stabilises a ship so it does not set off when we wish for it to stop, or help stabilise in rough weather. And a daily practice for us is what an anchor is to a ship. It stabilises us and helps us when uncertainty arrives in our lives or when we need grounding.
For example, I learned from an early age to pray everyday and little did I know that praying daily helped ground me and allowed me to manifest the goals I had when I was young. It wasn’t that I muttered a special spell. It was that as I said out loud the words of the prayers, I could feel my body reverberating with something bigger than me and experiencing this made feel that what I was facing at that time would be all the more possible to achieve. The prayers were powerful and positive. They were intentional and pure.
Over the corona virus lockdown, as with many of us I am sure, I found myself in my own home and spent the past couple of years learning to find my anchor. In the beginning I was lost. But with faith in the practice of showing up, I experimented with many things, such as daily journaling, meditation, shadow work, personal development. For my physical body, I continued my HIIT programs, learned to do pilates, learned Ashtanga yoga and strength training. I went as far as waking up at 5am in the morning, fasting, observing the five precepts of my religion in Buddhism and going on my first ten day vipassana meditation retreat.
Looking back, I cannot believe that I had managed to experiment with and really delve into so many practices. Some stuck on longer than others. But the premise was that not a day went by where I didn’t do any form of practice to stabilise my mind and gain clarity or move my body to become more grounded and present in myself and the environment around me.
It was the first time I learned how to not react to the world happening outside of me. But to really feel my power from within and live from the inside out.
Yes, I know…I went intensely over the past two years exploring many different forms of methods, which is why, as the world begins to open up again, I am learning to come to some form of a middle ground. I realise that I cannot stay fixated in that state of self I had developed these two years nor should I completely abandon them. As several options of choices in what I can do with my life appears: places to go and people to meet; where summer is approaching around the corner; I realised in the past month or so that I have become somewhat out of touch with what had kept me anchored.
Because what kept me anchored was what kept me growing. Life presents us with a growing number of options and these options are ever expanding by the day in our recent times. So, in order to sail in the direction of our hopes and dreams or face our fears and discomfort, we need to navigate our lives more intentionally to help us gain clarity and grounding.
Without treating my mind as a tool, without approaching my life from an observer perspective, without a healthy treatment of my body, I was not even being “my best self.” I didn’t feel like my ‘self’ at all. I didn’t feel human nor did I feel like I could interact with other humans around me. I didn’t feel like I could achieve my dreams or to face my fears and discomfort, one step at a time. Everything felt overwhelming.
I know there is a growing number of self-love kind of practices around the world these days. As much as I was practising and seeing results, I told myself I was merely experimenting and I was still a skeptic. Now that I have seen my life getting filled with more distractions, I see the power of showing up once again for myself, despite all the circumstances in life, and to prioritise what is an act of caring for oneself.
And sometimes that also means letting go of a sense of control. I don’t need to wake up at 5am. I don’t need to set a certain time of when I eat or sleep. But I can make sure that I take myself to a yoga or gym class and practice with someone who can guide me and who knows what they’re doing. I don’t need to overwork my brain with many ideas but I can share with someone I trust about my ideas and brainstorm with them together or get their thoughts and expertise on things I don’t know about but would like to. I don’t need to rely solely on me. We can allow others to be our anchors.
An anchor isn’t a fixed practice. Just as the anchor comes up above the water sometimes to allow the ship to move once more, our practices can change in frequency and intensity depending on where we are at in our lives. The point isn’t to stop. The point is to use them day by day, for our own good.
Whether you deem yourself a spontaneous person or one with self-discipline, I am certain that there is something in life that anchors you. And that this anchoring is also what simultaneously gives you the freedom. Something that allows you to stay true to a sense of self and the observer behind your life. Something that makes you feel confident again when you are feeling low. Something that helps you to stay true to your dreams and to face your fears and discomfort so you don’t give up. Something that allows you to continually expand.
I wrote the poem in the beginning as a reminder to myself- that my anchors are the purest things I will ever do, and that they allow me to have the strength and clarity to continue tending to what is close to my heart.
Contemplations
:
What and who is your anchor?
How long has the anchor been with you?
How does this anchor need to evolve and change to allow for what may be happening in your life at the moment?
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