Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
And just like that… I was sold.
There are many milestones in life – birthdays, anniversaries, moments when your eyes open wide and a light bulb suddenly switches on after flickering quietly for days.
It was on my 21st birthday, that a dear friend gave me this unassuming children’s book which showed me the true power of simplicity at an age where perhaps letting go of simplicity was the key to being “adult”
12 years later, I still read this book. At least once a week… to empower myself, to encourage myself and to remind myself that a simple message goes a long way.
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Interaction at any level is only as effective as the ability of each party to comprehend what exactly is happening. Too often in life, the sensory overload of words, thoughts and expectations muddle and discolour reality into a noisy indistinguishable mess.
And it is here in the mess that the poor soul battles to be seen & heard.
As a woman, child, sister, wife, yoga teacher, business partner and friend, learning to respect & listen to the quiet voice that whispers away is something that only now as a 33 year old, I am beginning to understand…not just my own whisper, but perhaps more importantly, the whisper of others.
In the yoga room, we strip down to our basic selves – sweaty, half naked and vulnerable struggling away in front of a mirror looking into our own eyes. It his here, in the vulnerability that the whisper of the soul can be easily heard.
By learning to listen to our own simple whisper in the hot room, we tune in to the rhythm and sound of the that quiet voice. As we learn to hear the rhythm and distinguish the voice in ourselves, the voices of others become more visible and clear.
At the core of every word and action, is a soul with a simple message that wants to be seen and wants to be heard.
So often in life, we see craziness around us- in an unrealistic expectation, in an unsympathetic word, in harmful gossip and remarks. Learning to peel back the layers of crazy and looking inside the soul to hear the whisper is something that I consciously have to work with each day, but this is an effort that brings so many rewards. Empathy, Understanding, Love, Trust, Acknowledgement.
At the core of every word and action, is a soul with a simple message that wants to be seen and wants to be heard.
Thats right, I repeated myself.
And I continue to repeat myself in my heart as I walk through this life and try to understand the world around me.
Learning to peel away the complication and listen to the simple messages underlying everything is the key. “Love me” “See me” “Respect me” “I need help” “I am lonely” “I feel stupid”… So simple but so powerful in understanding each other.
And by listening to the simple whisper, suddenly the noise of the actions and words matter less, and genuine fruitful interaction begins.
Resh, Bikram Yoga Oslo 