What's Your Excuse?
“Finally you have to say, “This isn’t about me. I didn’t wage this war. I didn’t pick this war. I don’t understand this war. I’m not going to think about this war, and I’m not going to use it as my excuse to not feel good any more.””
The above quote was delivered to my inbox last week, and it really resonated with me. It was written in 2004 about the wars in the Middle East. When the person wrote this quote, I’m not sure that they could foresee what would happen this century with people becoming even more anxious about everything - wars, shootings, politics, what have you. Our current culture of fear, and therefore of people acting out of fear and not with reason, has negatively impacted our quality of life.
While I certainly don’t advocate becoming uninformed or losing one’s compassion, I do think that the above quote has a lot to teach all of us right now. Many many people are caught up in stories about this and that and are allowing these stories to overcome their own lives. This allows them to become miserable and to feel like they are stuck or unable to move forward. What the world needs more than anything right now are people joyfully coming alive. We need to be our best selves and to move forward so that we can shift the negativity which has bred many of our problems today.
So, whatever your favorite topic, whether it be politics, a false sense that the world has gotten less safe, the weather, or what have you, see if you can still be interested but in a way that motivates you to move forward positively. Don’t allow it to be your excuse to feel miserable.
Nancy C Murray is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, Reiki master and spiritual leader. She leads public and private yoga classes and healing sessions and also retreats and transformational journeys.
