Perspective

I hope you all have had a great couple of weeks. I am a few days home from my Australian adventure and am still processing the wonderful time we had. While Australia resembles the U.S. in many ways at the same time it feels very different and exotic. One of the ways it is different is that they drive on the left side of the road.

Our second night of the trip, while in Sydney, we were walking to dinner on a busy sidewalk. I found myself perplexed and a bit frustrated because people kept walking into us. It took me about half of the walk to realize why; just as we drive on the right, we also walk on the right and they do the same, but on the left. These folks were not being rude….. we were :). 

I mentioned this realization to my daughter bashfully and we laughed at ourselves. All of a sudden our perspective completely changed and I was reminded of this powerful quote.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you are looking at change.”

I shared this story and message with my students last Friday in my first class back after my trip. They giggled as well upon hearing it and it became a powerful guide for our practice. The idea of shifting perspective becomes important when we show up consistently on our mats because each day our bodies feel different. We can choose to experience that as frustration or information. We can meet what the body is offering (or not) with resistance or with acceptance. How we view those sensations effect what happens next; and we have power over that. 

Off the mat, it truly works the same way. If we can see different sides of a situation or interaction it opens us up to mindfully choosing our response. This is the whole premise of the mindfulness program I have created, KLARITY Mindsette and I marvel at how often that simple premise rings true in my life. Awareness and perspective truly are our superpowers. Happy practicing!!