[Crisis & Awakening - XII]
Here are two *signs of renewal* I learned from strangers this week:
The ability to enjoy each moment. This flirts with being trite, but let me add to it one component that makes it profoundly insightful (and rather difficult for me). Rest is a precursor to moment-to-moment joy. In other words, there is no joy in the moment when our mind is racing, our phones are chirping, and we’re running to the next thing. Slowing, even completely stopping, and letting our minds and bodies synchronize is the first step of truly resting. And rest is fundamental to deeply enjoying this very moment.
Finding joy here and now cannot be fit into an already manic schedule. It defies busy-ness, because it requires rest. Rest is not necessarily a sign of renewal but it’s often a condition for it.
Loss of interest in conflict. Often the cause of conflict is a) a miscalculated assumption of the other, b) an unresolved conflict within that is projected onto the other, or c) unhealed pain triggered by the other. In other words, conflict is often the result unhealth… in you, not them. A sign of true awakening is curtailing our tendency to assume what others think/feel/intend and tending to our inner conflicts and wounds.
Doing both drastically reduces our inclination toward conflict, which is the first step to completely losing interest in fighting.
