Wind of the Soul

By now, you’ve probably figured out I’m primarily a nonconformist when it comes to my views on personal development, concepts pertaining to metaphysics and life in general. Some of the traditional teachings in these areas of thought resonate with me, but overall, I tend to be more of an independent thinker. This is why the whole theme of Wind of the Soul pertains to following your own guidance, not someone else’s, no matter their clout or level of so called expertise.

I intend for my writing to stand as a reminder; a sign post of sorts along the way. It’s not meant to be a rule book of tired, old, cookie cutter self-help strategies. I would never expect anyone to follow my thoughts or ideas as a code to live by, nor would I want them to. Because of that, my work may not be the most popular, but I’m not trying to win any contests here.

We learn nothing when we follow someone else’s rules. Sure, we become skilled at being “good little citizens/robots” who hope to make our parents, teachers, spouses, friends, employers, country (and let’s not forget about god) proud. But most good little citizens end up unhappy because they’ve spent a lifetime ignoring their own voice and beating down their own inner calling. Often times, they’ve convinced themselves that the desire to change for the “better” is their own, when in actuality it’s stemming from those around them.

Our greatest experiences come when we get outside of living under policies and guidelines, no matter who dictates them. This is when we finally become capable of learning who we are. Now, I’m not at all advocating a life of delinquency or treating people like dirt – I’m talking about getting out from under someone else’s rules as they pertain to our spiritual development, our personal expansion and the course of our life.

So, what does it mean to grow in your groove? Growing in your groove is everything I mentioned in the above paragraphs. Specifically, for the purpose of this entry, however, it pertains to seeing beyond the often cliché advice of breaking out of our comfort zones.

While exposing ourselves to uncomfortable situations can contribute to our growth as well as having new experiences, my problem with people always teaching this concept is, it fails to take into consideration we are all unique. There’s not one individual on this planet who interprets life in the exact same manner as another. When we enter into any experience with the assumption it’s fairly identical for everyone, no matter what, we’re completely off course.

I believe there is a current or a flow to each of our lives. Anytime we force ourselves or challenge ourselves to do something we really have no interest in doing (all for the sake of supposedly overcoming our fear), we are fighting against that flow.

Now, if you have a desire to follow a pursuit, but you feel trepidation about taking action, then extending outside your comfort level is great. However, I don’t believe we should ever take action toward something we have no interest in pursuing, simply because others are pressuring us into doing so.

My dad was in the military, so I spent all of my childhood challenging my levels of comfort. In fourteen years of public school (counting pre-kindergarten) I attended twelve different schools – talk about living in an almost constant state of discomfort and anxiety.

I tend to be more of an artistic, creative, sensitive individual. Each and every time I have worked to break out of my comfort zones, my creativity and my natural abilities become stifled for weeks to months at a time. Only after some semblance of comfort (stability) once again returns, do I feel able to be myself.

For me, my groove is all about maintaining a fairly stable lifestyle (within reason). I grow and thrive in relative stability, not in undesired challenges. In stability I’m more in tune, grounded and aware. My creativity flows and I’m at one with my surroundings. In spiritual terms, I consider these conditions optimal for nurturing growth.

I believe the same can be observed in nature. Of course, nature goes through major upheavals in which everything is out of its comfort zone for a length of time, but as that happens – most things in the affected niche aren’t flourishing. It takes an indefinite period of calm and serenity for many living things to thrive in their natural environment.

I don’t resist change. I understand change to be an integral part of life and the evolution of the Universe. However, I’ve found the more simplistic I keep my life, the better suited I am to embrace change.

For others, they may thrive by constantly piling challenges upon themselves and placing themselves far outside their comfort zones, but we aren’t all that way. Get in touch with your unique nature and never, ever allow anyone to define how that should be for you – not even me.

If it feels good to you, then follow it, if it doesn’t – forget about it. Learn to respect others and their right to either grow in their groove, outside their groove or to simply just groove, minus any major growth. There’s never been one right way to get to where you’re going and there never will be.

Posts Related to Grow in Your Groove: Comfort Zones

Spiritual Hermits
Spiritual Winds of Change
Moving Beyond Fear
Blazing Your Own Trail
Shaking off Social Pressure to Achieve Self Actualization

Tags: comfort zones, happiness, living intentionally, Self-Help

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Self-Help, Spiritual Empowerment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.