Now that most people are under some kind of lockdown, more and more people are feeling frustrated, frighted and in many cases, lonely. I live on my own, in a block of flats and hardly see my neighbours. I don't have many friends and I keep in touch with them using WhatsApp, Skype and Email. I've even had a virtual lunch with my almost 3 year old grandson.
And I don't feel lonely. And there's a good reason for that.
Over the years, I've learnt that real life happens inside me. The outside is there and I interact with it, reasonably successfully, but it doesn't hold my attention for long, because inside there is so much to discover about me. And I'm always there. And yet, I know so little about me.
Take a really simple example. There are people who do fire walking, i.e. they can walk barefoot over glowing hot coals. Can I do that? If someone else can, then I can too. All it takes is the right kind of mental training that is used for that practice. Have I learn't to control the relevant nerves in my feet? No. But I could.
I'm not advocating that we should start walking on coals during the corona virus crisis. What I'm trying to point out is that we generally speaking, control very little of our body. Mostly, because we have never been taught how. And why not? Every athlete knows that what is possible is only possible through dedication and training. Endless training. To me, our educational system is very badly skewed away from the important stuff. We are not really taught the basics of how to get on with each other and how to gain control over ourselves.
Find out why you feel the way you do about things. Why do you feel lonely? Why do you get annoyed by certain things? Why do you dislike somebody specific? Start asking yourself question about your own behaviours and reactions to situations. Fascinating stuff.
I used to practice Kung Fu and really enjoyed it, because it made me focus, on every aspect of my body; it's position; posture; breathing, etc. It helped a lot and if you weren't concentrating, the chances were that your sparring partner would whack you. We need to learn to concentrate.
So, being on my own is a great opportunity to get to know me. There's loads to learn :-)
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