Rise to the occasion
Back when I still worked an 8 to 5 job, I'd lie in bed every morning after the alarm went off, and wish that I could just stay in bed. Please, please, please. I'd think of time-saving tips that would let me lie there a few more minutes, snoozing. I would decide what I was going to wear that day; I could do that laying there, rather than waiting until I was showered and standing in front of the closet door; which shoes, which dress. . .
Oftentimes I would trick myself. I don't have to get up for work; I only have to get up and take a shower. Somehow that seemed less onerous, and it would usually get me out of bed and into the shower. Once in the shower, I could summon the energy to plan the day, go get dressed, breakfast, and out to the car. By then I was okay. I rose to the occasion a step at a time.
Oftentimes, after a particularly fatiguing day, I would go to yoga class and move through the asanas, regaining my center and smoothing away the hecticness of the day. And then we would move into relaxation, finally laying flat on our backs in savasana, with soft music wafting through the room, deeply contented and whole.
Then the instructor would start talking, softly, softly, and I would think, "Oh no. . . I cannot move. I cannot get up off of this floor." And the instructor would wisely say, "Wiggle your toes. Gently rotate your ankles. . ." and she would coax us out of corpse pose. And every time, class after class, by simply wiggling my toes, the energy would stir again, and I could imagine the possibility of moving my ankles and bending my knees, roll over onto my side, and gradually climb up onto my feet, regaining functionality. Victory.
Those toe wiggles taught me that moving energy produces more energy. By moving our bodies, by at least starting the overwhelming task, by simply getting the energy moving, everything changes. By taking a little step forward, energetic momentum kicks in and takes us even further forward. Sometimes we have to trick ourselves into moving that first bit of energy, but that's a much easier task than contemplating the enormity of everything that's in front of us.
Little by little we can rise to each occasion, until we learn to trust that it really will happen. Then we can rise a little more promptly, a little more steadily, a little more consciously. No matter the size of the task, if we start where we are and begin moving forward, we focus our energy and it carves out room in front of us so we can keep taking steps forward, until, wow, we've done it.
Oftentimes I would trick myself. I don't have to get up for work; I only have to get up and take a shower. Somehow that seemed less onerous, and it would usually get me out of bed and into the shower. Once in the shower, I could summon the energy to plan the day, go get dressed, breakfast, and out to the car. By then I was okay. I rose to the occasion a step at a time.
Oftentimes, after a particularly fatiguing day, I would go to yoga class and move through the asanas, regaining my center and smoothing away the hecticness of the day. And then we would move into relaxation, finally laying flat on our backs in savasana, with soft music wafting through the room, deeply contented and whole.
Then the instructor would start talking, softly, softly, and I would think, "Oh no. . . I cannot move. I cannot get up off of this floor." And the instructor would wisely say, "Wiggle your toes. Gently rotate your ankles. . ." and she would coax us out of corpse pose. And every time, class after class, by simply wiggling my toes, the energy would stir again, and I could imagine the possibility of moving my ankles and bending my knees, roll over onto my side, and gradually climb up onto my feet, regaining functionality. Victory.
Those toe wiggles taught me that moving energy produces more energy. By moving our bodies, by at least starting the overwhelming task, by simply getting the energy moving, everything changes. By taking a little step forward, energetic momentum kicks in and takes us even further forward. Sometimes we have to trick ourselves into moving that first bit of energy, but that's a much easier task than contemplating the enormity of everything that's in front of us.
Little by little we can rise to each occasion, until we learn to trust that it really will happen. Then we can rise a little more promptly, a little more steadily, a little more consciously. No matter the size of the task, if we start where we are and begin moving forward, we focus our energy and it carves out room in front of us so we can keep taking steps forward, until, wow, we've done it.