Go Naked
It’s summer in the northern hemisphere and that means we aren’t weighed down by coats, socks and heavy clothes. Yes, it feels good to move about light and unencumbered!
Clothes though, aren’t the only things we pile on and feel the need to carry around. Beliefs can be weighty especially for those who take a fortress-like position about protecting themselves from differing perspectives.
“Thoughts believed create your world.”
– Byron Katie
We all have preferences and opinions yet open-minded listening and an ability to remain genuinely curious aid in retaining a permeable lightness of being. For fun, see the link below for a clip from Mary Poppins where joy and laughter lead to tangible lightness.
There are other ways to weigh oneself down, such as lying. As Mark Twain said “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” How freeing is that? You don’t have to remember what you said and to whom. Transparency rocks – and lightens! It also saves time and money from divorce and resistance among other things. Just look at what some companies are doing to resist disclosure of GMOs or toxic ingredients in their products!
Over the past month I have been thinking about the conflicts across the planet, the weight of defensive positions and the heaviness of blame. I’m aware that the most addictive substance we know about is adrenaline and that, like most addictions, humans require it in increasing doses. Television and movies thrive on drama – good guys, bad guys, villains, victims and blaming. It mirrors the way many humans live, right down to how hard we are on ourselves. This is how a war over there, reflects the individual one right here inside.
Are you at war with your body, food, a boss, your teenager or anyone who doesn’t think the way you do? Yes, defending is one option, but so is growing. As biologist Bruce Lipton has learned, our cells can do only two things – protect and grow – and do only one of those things at a time. I’d rather spend my life growing wouldn’t you?
If so, be willing to go naked. Let’s lay down our arms, the positions we have taken about people, things, circumstances and how we think they should be (there’s no faster way to make yourself crazy). Let’s stop the warring, mean thoughts whether about a political party or a body part. Let’s get curious and open and kind. Let’s start anew. In every moment.
Be open to the ever-unfolding unknown, stay curious about that which, and those whom, you think you know already, find things to appreciate and be kind – especially to your naked self.
It’s all improv,
Jody Kaylor
Recommended resources:
Laughter with Mary Poppins