Every morning we wake up with a huge grin on our face. We spring out of bed, full of energy and enthusiasm for the day, and draw back the curtains, allowing the rays of sunshine to penetrate through. “Ahhh’ we let out a gentle sigh of appreciation, thinking of all the things we are so grateful for in our lives. “What a beautiful morning. I feel so alive, so happy to be here and so excited about today!” After a delicious breakfast, enjoyed with the one we love, in the peace and quiet of our budding garden, we skip off to work. From here, our day unfolds magnificently…
We feel the hearts and kindness of strangers we meet, and lap up all the meaningful conversations we exchange. We pat ourselves on the back when our boss congratulates us on all our hard work (even though we really don’t feel like it’s work at all) and beam when he says it’s a delight to have us as part of the team. Our full lunch hour is spent in tranquillity, in the nearby park. We sit back by the glistening lake, feeling the sun warm our face, listening to the sounds of the birds, and indulging in our favourite home-made sandwich. In the same fashion, our day continues to flow with ease and joy. We’re out of work by 5pm, and able to meander along to the yoga studio for an invigorating practice. To then come home to a delightful veggie dinner offered to us by our partner. No worries, no moans to be had. We’re not even the one to wash up! Bed-time comes at the perfect moment, just before 10pm. We cosy up under the covers and think “I so look forward to waking up tomorrow.”
What a wonderful world we’d live in if this were our experience, day-in, day-out. Ease, flow and peacefulness, maxed up to the brim. Nothing to worry about, nothing to fear and nothing made hard for us. An easy life, and path of happiness…
But is this really what we’re after? Does this ‘ideal’ even exist? Can things come so easily to us, and leave us so content and fulfilled? I’m not so sure they can. And I don’t believe this is really what we’re after.
Bring down a glorious image of what life can be is not what I want to do. I think that our lives are out there for the taking, the making, and the creating. They can be filled with beautiful moments, shared with outstanding people and lived truly to the full of our hearts desire. But, at the same time, and from my experience, we need to see all the colours of the rainbow. And the truth is: It’s Not Always Easy.
During the last few weeks on my school placement, I experienced a challenging time, a ‘tough period’. I certainly wasn’t waking up to sunshine beaming in at me every day, or feeling energised or like I had moments to spare for meandering through parks. No, quite the opposite. In fact on some days, I barely spent any time out in nature. I was too busy waking at the crack of dawn (at 4am on several occasions) to do my planning, feeling waves of anxiety about the days ahead and whether my lessons would be any good. I was feeling very tired during the day, trying to find my feet and make the most of the experience. My yoga and running schedule deteriorated, and pretty much went out of the window on the last week. I found myself opting for moments of relaxation and sleep, instead of exercise. I tried to establish a good work/life balance, I tried to make time for things I know are important for my well-being, I tried to do the best job I could on my school placement and I desperately tried to get myself back on ‘top form.’
And it was during all this ‘trying’, that I learnt a very important message: to ‘let go’, and just flow with my experience. I learnt to slow down, take things gently and not worry about having to be ‘on top’ all the time. “It’s alright to experience things differently, to come across bumps in the road, and to spend time in the valley, rather than at the peak of the mountain.” I listened to these words I heard from within me. I listened to the cues and prompts from my body, like when it said “lay off a run today and take some time to lie low and rest”, “go out and enjoy today, with no worries of it being the ‘best day’”, and a third one, which I think is really important: “life is not always easy, and that’s OK.”
We can learn from every experience, every ‘bad day’ and every difficult moment.
