7 posts tagged “dailyom”
From the DailyOM:
Tending The Hearth
Women's Work
In the recent past, the term women's work has come to have a derogatory connotation. Women's work encompasses all the domestic chores that have historically been associated only with women-cooking, cleaning, and raising children. Whenever a person is limited to only certain kinds of work in a society, there is a need to break free from that work in order to inhabit a place of choice. However, when we choose to do women's work because we enjoy it, there is nothing degrading about it. There is an honor to it, and when done alone or in a group this work can be truly meaningful and fulfilling because the home is the foundation of security for all who live in it. The importance of tending the hearth that nurtures all who bask in its warmth cannot be overstated.
In addition to being essential to the functioning of the world, women's work offers creative fulfillment, intimate interaction, and personal satisfaction. The more we become aware of the significance of this realm of labor, the more fulfilling it will be to those who do the work and those who benefit from it. A well-set table and a delicious, healthy meal can heal us on multiple levels. Clean, crisp sheets on a bed allow us to enter a deep slumber, inspiring a sense of safety and trust. Our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health all rest upon the smooth functioning of our homes.
The gift of women's work, which still often comes from the hands of women, now also comes from fathers, husbands, and hired help. Whatever the source, our sincere gratitude upon receiving these treasures reminds us of the profound value of what is traditionally known as women's work. The more we acknowledge the tremendous importance of this work, the more we are able to do it with a sense of pride, never feeling for a moment that our efforts are less significant or meaningful than those working outside the home-on the contrary, it is this work that makes all other work possible.
The Wisdom Of Surrender
Relying On Others
Most of us pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency. We like to be
responsible for taking care of ourselves and pulling our own weight in
the world. This is why it can be so challenging when we find ourselves
in a situation in which we have to rely on someone else. This can happen
as the result of an illness or an injury, or even in the case of a
positive change, such as the arrival of a newborn. At times like these,
it is essential that we let go of our feeling that we should be able to
do it all by ourselves and accept the help of others.
The first step is accepting the situation fully as it is. Too often we
make things worse either by trying to do more than we should or by
lapsing into feelings of uselessness. In both cases we run the risk of
actually prolonging our dependency. In addition, we miss a valuable
opportunity to practice acceptance and humility. The ego resists what
is, so when we move into acceptance we move into the deeper realm of the
soul. In needing others and allowing them to help us, we experience the
full realization that we are not on our own in the world. While this may
bring up feelings of vulnerability, a deep feeling of gratitude may also
emerge as we open to the experience of being helped. This realization
can enable us to be wiser in our service of others when we are called
upon to help.
It takes wisdom and strength to surrender to our own helplessness and to
accept that we, just like every other human being, have limitations. The
gifts of surrender are numerous. We discover humility, gratitude, and a
deepening understanding of the human experience that enables us to be
that much more compassionate and surrendered in the world.
From the DailyOM
The Past In Light Of The Present
Knowing Better Now
When we look back at the past, knowing what we know now, we often find
it difficult to understand how we made the mistakes we made. This is
because once we learn new information, it is nearly impossible to
reenter the headspace we were in before we learned that information. And
so we look back at parents who spanked their kids, for example, and
wonder how they could have thought that was a good idea. Similarly, our
personal pasts are full of mistakes we can't believe we made. We did
things then that we would never do now, and this is precisely because we
have information now that we didn't have, or weren't able to access,
then.
From ideas about how to raise children to how to treat the environment,
our collective human past sometimes reads like a document on what not to
do. In many ways, this is exactly as it should be. We learn from living
and having experiences. It is from these past actions that we garnered
the information that guides us to live differently now. Just so, in our
personal lives, we probably had to have a few unsuccessful relationships
or jobs, learning about our negative tendencies through them, in order
to gain the wisdom we have now.
In order to live more peacefully with the past, it helps to remember
that once we know better, we tend to do better. Prior to knowing, we
generally do our best, and while it's true that from the perspective of
the present, our best doesn't always seem good enough, we can at least
give our past selves the benefit of the doubt. We did our best with what
knowledge we had. Beyond this, we serve the greater good most
effectively by not dwelling on the past, instead reigning our energy and
knowledge into our present actions. It is here, in this moment, that we
create our reality and ourselves anew, with our current knowledge and
information.
Reposted From the DailyOM
A Wealth Of Feeling
What Is Love?
Throughout recorded history, love has burned in the hearts of composers, writers, painters, and playwrights, and smoldered in those of parents, children, and friends. Love, primal, passionate, and pure, has been dissected, revered, praised, and derided. It has been called complex, ethereal, and mysterious. We long for a definition but fear that the feeling called love would be less exhilarating were it defined. Much of the mystery is rooted in the incomprehensibility of love's purpose. Self-sacrifice, procreation, caring, and romance can all exist separate from love. It is possible to have intense feelings for others but not define those feelings as love. And yet love remains a powerful and universal force that uplifts, inspires, and is strong enough to bring about great change.
Like the wind, which we cannot see yet know is all around us, love is often more easily perceived through its effects. As we transcend the boundaries of ego in order to love and be loved, we put aside self-centeredness and experience unity with another, and compassion, peace, joy, excitement, and fulfillment are the inevitable results. It is irrelevant whether the focus is a lover, a child, a relative, or a friend; the results are both familiar and novel, more so when love is returned in kind. But Paramahansa Yogananda noted that "to describe love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love." Those who have tasted of it often equate love with jealousy, bitterness, resentment, lust, or aggressive attachment, but it is none of these things. Love is both a feeling and an action, for as it brings us into the light, so do we strive for the happiness, safety, health, and fulfillment of those we love.
It is true that love can be fleeting and accepts few controls or conditions. The strongest loves blaze into being and wither away in an instant or last lifetimes. The one constant is the release of emotion. Love is not learned but brought forth from within because the basic nature of the human animal is love. It is only fear that causes the need to love and be loved to be buried. When we accept our worthiness and reject indifference, it is then that we are able to become outlets of love.
From the DailyOM:
Unearthing Your Roots
Knowing Your History
Each of us is a piece of a larger puzzle. We are all born into the
unique and complex network of individuals, settings, and circumstances
that constitute our heritage. Whether or not you are aware of your
ancestors, you family's country of origin, the cultural history of your
people, or the trials faced by the people responsible for bringing you
into the world, these forces have had a hand in shaping your values.
Knowing your family history and reflecting often upon your own personal
history as it relates to your heritage empowers you to look at your life
in a larger historical context and to understand that you are a vital
part of an ongoing drama greater than yourself.
Researching your heritage can prepare you to meet the future. The traits
of your ancestors can give you insight into how your character has
developed and the beliefs that form the foundation of your worldview.
The knowledge you gain can help you appreciate your values and your
character, giving you the confidence to be more expressive where both
are concerned. At a cellular level, you carry a genetic code from your
family determining things like how you age, your blood type, and
personality traits. But as a spiritual being you bring in what you chose
to do with that genetic coding, your free will. Unearthing your heritage
is not simply about uncovering who did what when or reconnecting with
long-lost relatives. Rather, it is a method of building self-awareness
and bridging the gulf that divides your past from your future.
In researching our individual histories, however, we may encounter
relatives who made interesting choices or were involved in traumatic
events. It's easy to overestimate the importance of these pieces of our
past and to cling to them. Balance is key. While your heritage has
influenced the development of the person you are today, you are more
than an ethnicity, a culture, or a family name. You should not feel
driven to alter your likes and dislikes, dreams, preferences, or values
because you feel your heritage demands it. Knowing your history is about
loving who you are, understanding where you've come from, and preparing
for your future.
Posted on the DailyOm 1.26.07
Unexpected Enlightenment
You Never Know Who You'll Meet
Our individual journeys take us into many unexpected situations where we encounter a wide variety of people-some quite like ourselves and some very different. We cannot anticipate these meetings, but we can make the most of them when they take place. When we are courteous as a matter of course and open-minded in our assessment of the individuals whose lives briefly touch our own, we are more apt to stumble upon surprising gems of wisdom that open our eyes to new worlds of possibility. Every person we meet can affect us profoundly, just as every situation we find ourselves in can teach us something new.
To fully embrace this fact, it is essential that we acknowledge that everyone is valuable in their own way and capable of expanding our horizons. Since we never know when we will happen upon those individuals who will unveil truths before us, we should extend to all people the same generous level of kindness, care, compassion, and understanding. When we assume everyone we meet is special and treat them as such, we can develop a strong rapport quickly. By making an effort to adopt a positive attitude toward others at all times, we ensure that our emotions do not blind us to wisdom that may be lurking in difficult or distressing situations. We are accordingly receptive to knowledge that comes to us in the form of examples, advice, and direct teaching.
These brief relationships ultimately have the potential to enrich our lives in a very concrete way. But the wisdom we gain is proportional to the attention we pay to the world around us. The responsibility is on us to maintain a state of awareness that allows us to recognize when we are in the presence of someone consciously or unconsciously in possession of knowledge that will change us significantly. When we are cognizant of the potential for unexpected enlightenment, we make a habit of turning strangers into friends, thus ensuring that we are never without a font of wisdom from which to draw.
Every gift lying dormant in your soul has the potential to fill a void in someone else's life.
From the DailyOm
