Our lives resemble the River Nile in a way. In historic times, wise people would forecast the behavior of the River Nile by watching the celestial movements.
It therefore became possible to grow grains and other foods around the River Nile by predicting floods and droughts. Our lives are reminiscent of the Nile. The flows generated by our experiences move in certain cycles over time, and at one point or another, there are cyclical streams of calmness, intemperance, unease, and integration. From that point on, all we need do is grow grains along the river banks that our bodies draw, because they will be irrigated during droughts and protected during floods.
For transformation, it is necessary to question our firm beliefs about who we are. It’s not easy to transform by just being the person you are. You cannot relax and wait for transformation to come along, because there is no such ritual or magic potion. Remember that there will also be no genie appearing from Aladdin’s lamp.
I already mentioned the will to question your firm beliefs, but it’s also good to remind yourself that you need to show the will to consider your firm beliefs about life and living. Releasing the potential of gaining pleasure from life and enjoying it is a natural skill, but it sometimes takes several attempts, like removing a stubborn stain or ruining a few meals before becoming a talented chef.
This skill can be developed and improved naturally in a supportive and sustaining environment. It is not an escape, nor should it become an ambition. It is simply a means of getting to the point you want to be at. There is the risk that panic, anxiety, or fear will prevent you from enjoying life, and this is natural. It’s also natural to seek the source of your compelling and restrictive feelings. Those who say, “Forget it. Don’t dwell on it” are foolish. Thinking is in our nature, and even when we cannot accurately describe what’s threatening us, we still know it’s there, because no sigh of relief came. Even playfulness and joy can be excessively serious. When you see the wrinkled faces of people who chase joy, you’ll know what I mean. Start seeking joy not there but here, by opening your lungs and breathing in.
We, as people, have difficulty accepting that some experiences are unexplainable, but trying to find explanations and making sense of matters are also very natural responses. It is important to start by accepting all of the things in our nature, to be aware of the people we are and accept ourselves. This helps us to understand more clearly where we should work. Rhythm and regular practice then regenerate us.
You can observe how many people set matters aside so they can empower themselves through their suffering, and such people rarely attempt to return to a more joyful, vivid, cheerful, challenging, and active life. You can see how they habitually deny or postpone their distress. Maybe you take a different path instead. Rather than following the people who play their little games in empty holes, maybe you play your games somewhere else. However, even though it’s tempting to criticize people who hide their heads in the sand, remember that whatever an individual realizes on his or her own is enormously helpful. It’s not easy to know which paths people will follow and which people are on what path. You should never underestimate the enormity of the energy suppressed in people, and you never know what will happen when this energy is released. Sometimes, the reason for living in a hole for so long is a deep shame. Shame should never be underestimated, but fear is weaker.
In such cases, moving forward with small steps and internalizing the experience gradually allows us to accept and absorb the part of our life that feels raw. The greatest help is in fact the least help, and the little is in fact the much. Thus, a new path is created from inactivity to mobility, from scarcity to abundance, from fear to courage, and from stress to peace. A journey begins, and spiraling movements help enhance our capacity. Our perceptions start to expand as we accept the events of the past, the happenings around us right now, and the possibilities of the future for what they are and embrace a much bigger area. We become capable of learning from our own life experiences and those of others. From then on, the contractions and expansions enter a natural, rhythmic state, like the expansion and contraction of our lungs as we breathe. This rhythmic mobilization heals us.
We may think our response to something that threatens our lives is inelegant, so it will never accomplish its goal. We chose to shame ourselves by unceasingly searching for a better reaction, usually unsuccessfully. Even if it is possible to do better, it is exhausting to refuse that a moment only exists in that form. Wouldn’t it be easier to believe this rather than expending energy striving for something better? Can’t we spend the same energy gaining pleasure from life and being joyful? Surely it would be good, because then the rhythmic mobilization will heal us.
When viewed from this angle, transformation requires change. Another are that should change is our relationship with our lives’ experiences and memories, so the rhythmic mobilization can heal us.
