Craving and aversion

These two pull us in different directions day after day, week after week, throughout most of our lives until we give in or give up. We all crave pleasurable sensations, a rich creamy piece of chocolate or a cosy bed in the middle of winter. We all avoid things that hurt or annoy us. But that which feels good not always is good, and that which makes us uncomfortable can often be exactly what we need to achieve balance.

Never has this simple fact of life been clearer to me than in the extremely luxurious resort in Seminyak Bali, where I forced myself day after day to leave the comforts of our lagoon pool and buffet breakfast to step into a boiling hot box, roll out my Yoga mat and sweat until I had nothing left to give. Why? Because I know that which sometimes brings suffering can end up being the best thing we do for ourselves. To grow and develop as human beings we must step out of our comfort zones and test our limits, we must push the boundaries so we can create new larger lives and continue moving further away from all that contains us and holds us back as individuals. It’s not always easy, but since when did easy mean good? It is crucial to be doing that which we avoid and hold ourselves back from that which we crave, if we constantly gave in wouldn’t we all be drug addicted, alcoholic and obese?
In saying all of this l do believe it’s good for the soul to do something we simply love and crave to do every now and then, each day should you need to, to enjoy the simple things in life. But once you can see clearly, seeing things for what they are and realising the nature of the human mind to crave and resist we understand that only temporary relief can be found from constantly giving in to our desires, however lasting happiness can be sought and achieved by not always choosing the road well paved, and maintaining balance of our wants.

So yes there have already been many moments when I have wanted to sleep in, eat, drink a Bintang (I have given in to that one a few times!), and just stay with my family in the pool, but very few times have I given in. I know it’s just not worth it, in the larger scheme of life the time it takes to do our practice is very short compared with the time we have to do everything else. The peace, comfort and joy that I receive from meditation and Yoga is unparalleled.

As we age hindsight tells us that we cannot run away from our problems, if there is something in life that is causing great stress it will not be cured by drinking a bottle of wine, temporarily perhaps, but it is all there and then some when we wake up the next day.
These can be easily transferred to things that start off as being positive and balancing, such as a Yoga practice, but our minds and egos turn them into even bigger cravings, the desire to perfect a pose, thinking that once we can do that then we will be happy, but seriously where does this idea come from? We need to be consistently watching our minds, observing the tricks they play on us, and living from our intuition, from our hearts, from the space within us that is all knowing.

 

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It can be difficult leaving these two very precious souls every morning!

Alicia xxx

 

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