I found this quote by Anaïs Nin in a book I've been reading lately, called An Authentic Life: Finding Meaning and Spirituality in Everyday Life by Caroline Jones. Jones was an Australian journalist who died in 2022, aged 84. This book has been quite a powerful read for me and I hope to share more of it with you in the coming weeks.
Nin's quote can be taken quite harshly, but when broken down it makes a lot of sense. We often feel that we are in a position where we can't change, where we are a victim to our circumstances, or that things are simply outside of our control. Whether or not this state is one that we would willing choose for ourselves or not is relevant. The fact that we choose to remain in it, is very relevant. For the longest time I felt like I could not leave teaching. It was a position I had chosen for myself, but when it was no longer working for me, I slowly felt like a part of me was dying inside. I wasn't happy. I wasn't enjoying the work that I was doing. And I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I didn't see how I could elect to get out of that state and I became stuck. I tried changing the things that I thought were in my control (the schools where I taught, the ages of my students etc), but I quickly realised that these weren't the problem. The problem was with me and my disconnect with teaching. This was what needed to change. Despite my fear, I made that change this year and I couldn't be happier.
Change can be scary but very, very rarely is it impossible. The blocks that we put on ourselves to change something that is no longer working for us are often just our fears causing us to believe that any other reality is impossible. The joy of reading the classics, spiritual literature and religious texts is that we can see that so many others have faced these challenges before us and that change really is possible. Change in attitude, change of heart, change of circumstance. All is within our power.
This topic is one very close to my heart and if you are feeling like a change is necessary in your life then I want to encourage you to consider taking the first step. Start with a change in attitude. Can you look at something in your life differently? Perhaps with a more grateful heart? Perhaps with forgiveness - either for yourself or others? Or perhaps simply with the understanding that nothing has to last forever and this stage will also pass in time.
Thank you for stopping by; I hope you have a lovely week,
Comments
Post a Comment