You may be aware that I love kayaking.
It is one of my favourite things to do in the whole wide world.
When I was a young fella I could pretty much go kayaking as much as I liked.
Being single or flexibly attached there was no one telling me I had to stay at home,
How wonderful.
Fast forward a few years and I find myself attached.
Sumati, the mega-awesome wife -
And Bubba, the little helpless creature that must be entertained and looked after.
Attached and with Responsibilities with a capital R.
Last night I was casually looking at the river flows on the internet,
My local river was at the perfect level.
Perfect - and it hasn’t been perfect for months now.
Given that I've been working all day long,
A nice reward would be to head out for a couple or three hours and kayak the evening away.
But -
There’s always a but isn’t there?
Bubba is teething and cranky and Sumati, by the end of the day, has had enough.
I can’t run off. I can’t just do what I want to do. I need to be Responsible.
Now - here is the point:
I can choose to resent my Responsibilities.
“Life was so much better when I was young and carefree …”
(I hear some of you say that too, so I know I’m not the only one with that thought)
“That time when I could do exactly what I wanted …”
(Which is a lie, you’ve rarely been able to exactly what you’ve wanted to.
The golden wave of nostalgia gives you selective memory as there’s ALWAYS been a tradeoff,
there’s always been some responsibilities - even if they have a small “r”).
Or …
I can realise that my Responsibilities are there because I CHOSE them.
My choices in the past have led me right here to this moment in time.
I can get all pouty and grumpy and try and blame my lovely wife and daughter for ruining my freedom …
Or I can simply accept that life is different now.
And I chose it. No one else.
Instead of trying to maintain a nostalgic vision of a past version of me,
I can crack on and enjoy what I do actually have,
Who I am now.
Of course you can always backtrack,
Make different choices so you’re living that life without Responsibilities.
If you wish …
But freedom never exists externally.
Never.
You will always find a trade off.
I had a job as an outdoor instructor because that was my love, and I thought getting paid to do what I loved was an excellent idea.
Because of my poor attitude at the time all that happened was that my hobby and my passion became work.
I resented going kayaking because I wasn’t free to do what I wanted.
You see how it works?
Freedom is an internal state of being.
It stems from fluidity, from acceptance and allowance.
It’s not in resistance or resentment.
It gives you the conscious making of choices.
The best thing to gain internal freedom despite the circumstances of your life?
Meditation, specifically the form I teach and practice -
The Bright Path Ishayas’ Ascension.
Meditation at it’s simplest, most powerful, relaxing and enjoyable.
If you think stepping up into true freedom sounds like a good idea?
Head this way to get your FREE guide to doing and being just that:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
I know some of you are advanced meditators.
You do this a lot, every day even.
But you have to start bringing that conscious awareness you get from meditation into each and every moment.
Then your meditation practice starts to really fast track your life.
And that’s exactly what I teach you to do:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb