The 100 Day Warrior was created as a vehicle for transmitting awareness and facilitating transformation. I think it is essential to learn to develop kindness and appreciation towards our bodies and minds.
You might think you appreciate yourself but when you take a closer look chances are that your appreciation is only partially. The part we don’t like, or even hate, in ourselves, we tend to dislike or hate in others. When we don’t develop sympathy or gentleness toward ourselves, we cannot experience harmony or peace within ourselves, and therefore, what they project to others is also inharmonious and confused. Much chaos and suffering in the world is a direct consequence of human ignorance. If you don’t want to spread ignorance yourself but would like to do something meaningful with your life you have to start with working on yourself.
Every human being has a basic nature of goodness, which is undiluted and unconfused. That goodness contains tremendous gentleness and appreciation. As human beings, we can make love. We can stroke someone with a gentle touch; we can kiss someone with gentle understanding. We can appreciate beauty. We can appreciate the best of this world. We can appreciate its vividness: the yellowness of yellow, the redness of red, the greenness of green, the purpleness of purple. Our experience is real. When we have brilliant sunshine or wonderful snowfall, we appreciate it. And when we appreciate reality, it can actually work on us. We may have to get up in the morning after only a few hours’ sleep, but if we look out the window and see the sun shining, it can cheer us up. We can actually cure ourselves of depression if we recognize that the world we have is good.
We have to accept personal responsibility for uplifting our lives. When you don’t punish or condemn yourself, when you relax more and appreciate your body and mind, you begin to contact the fundamental notion of basic goodness in yourself. So it is extremely important to be willing to open yourself to yourself. Developing tenderness toward yourself allows you to see both your problems and your potential accurately. You don’t feel that you have to ignore your problems or exaggerate your potential. That kind of gentleness toward yourself and appreciation of yourself is very necessary. It provides the ground for helping yourself and others.
Shambala – The Sacred Path Of The Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa
It sounds so easy doesn’t it? But developing genuine tenderness towards ourselves is so rare and so scary to the most of us that we seem to prefer the state of ignorance we live in. Developing loving kindness is not taught in schools. On the contrary, beating discipline into children is the norm in most cultures. We emphasize toughness and associate selflessness and forgiveness with weakness. Nobody has the courage to be vulnerable: not states, not companies, not political parties, not institutions, not religions, not countries, not people. We rather focus on survival, self-preservation, profits and gains. As long as we participate in that game ourselves we are responsible for the damage it causes.
The 100 Day Warrior is not just about becoming beach-proof and receiving a couple of tools that will make it easier for you to function in a competitive work environment. The vision is to help you appreciate your body and mind so that you begin to contact the fundamental notion of basic goodness in yourself thus providing the ground for helping yourself and others.
The only way to break through the dominant paradigm of selfishness and greed is by opening up yourself to yourself. Once you discover your innate basic goodness is doesn’t make sense anymore to live from fear. You will feel liberated and your liberation will inspire others.
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This is episode 23 in a series of 100 blog posts that will be published daily during the 100 Day Warrior, a unique program around physical strength, inner wisdom and meaning. All posts are written by Atalwin Pilon, founder of Basic Goodness and creator of the 100 Day Warrior. For requests for motivational speaking, in-company workshops, online coaching and mindfulness training click here. If you would like to join our international community of brave and inspiring human beings or just follow this blog and receive updates, please click here of sign up on the right side of the page. Atalwin specializes in coaching smart and creative people, both groups and individuals. If you are interested in a free coaching session click here.
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