I had been wallowing in the doldrums of my mind for the past few days. It happens to all of us. So when I woke up this morning in time for my morning prayers, I pleasantly surprised myself with the resolve I had to brush away all the cobwebs surrounding my heart and soul. Instead of slipping back into the cosiness of my warm bed and with it, the slumber of my mind, I was alert and ready for anything this day had to throw at me.
I stood in the kitchen, unaware of my slouch, making myself a cup of tea and gazing at my socks, at the floor and anything that was grounded. I took a deep breath in and instinctively, I found myself pulling my stomach muscles in then holding on to them for dear life as I exhaled. Eyes closed, my mind recalled the words of my pilates instructor, hammered into my psyche for years. Shoulders down. Focus on your core and for goodness sake, don't let go of your stomach muscles. I kept on inhaling and exhaling for a good few moments until the chugging sound of a kettle ready to take off brought me back to the here and now. But I kept on breathing and with every breath I took, I consciously felt my spine straighten up further until I felt taller than I had felt for the last few days. It seemed like a long time ago! I opened my eyes and felt this rush of happiness. My head had adjusted itself so that my gaze was level. I could see outwards, towards the garden the towards the world around me. I felt more centred. It was like a whole new world had just opened up to me even though nothing in my physical surroundings had changed. It was now a view of hope, optimism and renewed determination. I could actually feel a smile forming within me and I breathed new life into my soul.
I poured the steaming water in my cup slightly excited at this change, grateful for this ever so subtle jump start to the day ahead. And all along I held on to my posture, that symbol of recovery.
I thought about this for a moment.
If improving my physical posture instantly improved my attitude then what about all the other metaphorical postures in my life that I could instantly mend. It seemed to be a matter of straightening out all the kinks in my life that were preventing me from getting where I wanted to be. A simple mathematical concept says that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Clearly kinks, slouches and deviations had no place in this equation. And to get to my destination, whatever that may be, I needed to find that straight line. To realise my dreams, I needed to iron out the creases in my mind. You know, the ones that create mental blocks and obstacles. The ones in the form of negative vibes and show-shopping notions that prevent you from advancing and moving forward. I needed to improve the posture of my mind. I needed to improve the posture of my life.
So while I carried my cup of tea and walked through to the lounge, I carried with me not only poise and grace but I also carried with me a renewed positive attitude. I could already feel a million and one fresh ideas spring to mind. The realisation had just opened up the heavy door of creativity and unleashed forces within me that were ready to get to work and raring to go.
Mothers were right all along. It is about posture.
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