Recent reflection/Book Review

January is always a time of stillness in nature and though, we humans are a part of nature, we tend to do the opposite. We do resolutions that put extra pressure on us. We hit the ground running at a sprint only to—later— run out of steam completely then mark it off as a failed yet. Back to the old routine.

Since doing yoga teacher training, I traded the resolution for a reset. Each December I get rid of a few bad habits, little by little, leaving a few last ones in to get me through the Christmas holiday. I am usually starting my reset before New Years Eve comes around.

January I take account of the changes from last year and what has stuck. The things that Stuck and are now good habits, I recommit to. The things I need to work on to be where I am my best, I try to do on a day by day basis. This can be something like steps. If I was doing 8,000 steps and need more like 10,000, I will add a little time to my morning walk when I can then add in a quick 10min. treadmill walk, adding a few more minutes each day.

I am slightly off track. So here we go- I also take a look at my career. I am a hairstylist by trade. I love it but my body is struggling with pain from repetitive movement, and standing with my arms forward all day long. I have added side hustles so I can lighten up on some of the longer days. This year I will be trying for two week days only. I added three hours on Saturdays for those who can't do week days.

This is leading to something I swear! Thinking about this brought me back to my yoga teacher training days and a book called the Bhagavad Gita. The training sent us a list of books to get. I just looked them up on Amazon and grabbed a copy of each. When it was time to read and review this book, I felt lost when the teacher was describing it. Come to find out I got the translated version by Eknath Easwaran. I was horrified and embarrassed at first but once I got the big, original version and got through it with the class, I went back to this one. It was easier to understand and the stories within stuck. The original was fine but this book bought by mistake was the one that really influenced me.

This book is about finding our calling. It's practical, human, and about real life: work,identity,restlessness,and purpose. There are many translations of this book but Easwaran's stood out. I felt like I walked with these people—like I knew them. They were like me.

One of the stories was about a nurse. She was good at her job but she felt restless. Disconnected. Like she had missed her calling. She kept thinking she was meant to do something else. Instead of finding peace, she found herself feeling miserable. Through the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, She realized that it wasn't the job that was wrong. It was the constatnt wishing she was somewhere else. When she stopped resisting and gave herself fully to the work she was already doing—the same job became fulfilling.

Nothing on the outside changed. Everything on the inside did. That story alone was worth it for me.

So every start of the year I reorganize my mindset and recommit to my calling. I also realized that I have a few. A few callings that set my heart on fire and THIS year is the year I find the perfect balance to allow them to coexist.

The next year... I reorganize again.

Lessons I learned from this book-

Don't chase praise.

Do work without attchment to the outcome.

Not tying worth to results.

do whats in front of you fully.

This book doesn't romanticize "finding your purpose". It challenges the idea.

It made me look at how much energy I've spent thinking I need to move on from parts of my life—instead of asking how present I am inside of them.

It didn't give me 'all the answers'.

It gave me better questions.

All that being said. This isn't a book you breeze through once. You come back to it when things seem out of sorts. I just bought another copy on Amazon because I believe I lent it out back when I first felt that inspiration. This time I will just share the link.

Amazon.com