Spoiled

Friday, April 12, 2024, 

Much of the modern world has alleviated the larger humanitarian issues of the past.  Despite what our 24/7 "news"-cycle likes to report, global rates of starvation, malnourishment, and infant death have decreased drastically, worldwide, and continue to decrease (and, frankly, that's cause for celebration). 

As we alleviate certain problems of the past (which is good), we create new problems (which will always be the case, unfortunately).  Starvation has been replaced with sky-rocketing obesity rates...stigma and prejudice against mental health are gone (depending on whom you ask), but are replaced with gargantuan increases in depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc......how can that be?

It's handy, and tempting, and even fun to complain about one's situation (even handier when one blames one's situation on others), but the real fact is that, in the developed nations of the world, life has actually never been better and easier.....the bar has never been lower.  

We order organic dog food to be delivered to our front door from our new iPhone 14 while sitting on a couch and complaining on social media about how oppressed we are and how unfair and difficult life is.  Are we rotting, like overripe fruit, due to our own spoiled nature?

There's a very old phrase of "count your blessings".  One can take it literally and sit down and list the good things in one's life.  If one does this, one can quickly count up dozens of wonderful things about one's life.  Doing this can begin to change one's thinking and help to move the mental-needle away from the notion that life isn't fair, and the world is against me, and why isn't my life better than it is.  Starting one's day on a yoga mat with reflection, prayer, and meditation, can bring one closer to the realization that one is, in fact, quite spoiled, and one's life is actually, quite plush. 

Time to begin...

Part II:

Today's practice was great, but I took an extra luxurious warm-up period so I'm a tad behind schedule.  

As always, the version of my self that's coming off the mat at the end of my practice is superior to the version of myself that got on the mat at the beginning of practice (spoiled though I may be).  Time to take this version of myself out into the world. 

Namaste