
“The natural desire of the human mind is to become special - to become special in the ways of the world, to have many degrees, to have much political power, to have money, wealth - to be special. The mind is always ready to go on some ego trip. And if you are fed up with the world, then again the ego starts finding new ways and new means to enhance itself - it becomes spiritual. You become a great mahatma, a great sage, a great scholar, a man of knowledge, a man of renunciation; again you are special. Unless the desire to be special disappears, you will never be special. Unless you relax into your ordinariness, you will never relax.” -Osho
Let’s speak about the art of being. Most of the time, we speak of doing, of action and the steps we must take to be special and achieve our dreams. These are great topics to discuss and to be engaged with because they help us foster the vision of getting where we want to be.
Often these discussions come at a cost, however. The cost is that we lose appreciation for where we are in the moment, before reaching our dreams or during the journey of getting to them. Nobody wants to feel, focus on or describe themselves as ordinary. It is looked down upon to be complacent or stuck in one place. It is difficult to slow down and just be. And it’s definitely not the norm to appreciate things as they are in a world that demands we compare and push ourselves 99% of the time (with the exception perhaps of getting enough sleep).
We can describe this active state of being as our yang state. Yang is a Chinese principle describing one sort of universal energy or chi: an energy that is active, social, bright, hot, rising, physical, masculine, external, etc. Does this remind you of anything? Probably yes! Because the world we live in is unapologetically yang.
The other side of this same yang coin is how it impacts our insides: emotions, thoughts and moods. Living in a yang environment puts us in people-pleasing or displeasing mode, sensitive and perhaps anxious about social interactions and acutely aware of what expectations are from the outside.
Now, let’s change the conversation for a moment: what are your expectations of yourself? How is your internal state right now (moods, thoughts, emotions)? How well do you sleep? Or better yet, how much importance do you give to rest, recuperation and time alone?
These questions relate to your yin state of being: the other side of the universal Chinese principle of energy (just as important but way less prevalent and encouraged in 2017). Yin is about your internal environment, the deeper parts of yourself and your psyche. Not the body of arms and legs, but the subtle energy body of feeling and intuition. Yes, yin is deeper and darker, because it feels more into truth that only you can know in your own body and human experience (independent from what anyone else can feel or say or know). Yin is 50% of your make-up as a human being and the whole spectrum of energy you were gifted when you came into creation.
So why do we treat yin as bad, irresponsible or insignificant in our culture? Why do we feel guilty for staying in alone and deciding NOT to go out with friends? Why do we feel bad for not always knowing what to do and how to act? Why must we always argue for and prescribe to opinions rather than accepting and internalizing a deeper picture? These are yin aspects to life and they are just as legitimate and occurring as yang aspects of life. But for whatever reason, we were taught to push down these places in ourselves in order to achieve more and more and more and moreeeeee. Because the idea is that it’ll get us somewhere.
Well, doing nothing, consciously, can too.
Osho says “Unless you relax into your ordinariness, you will never relax”. I wouldn’t call yin ordinary. I would call it extraordinary!
Love & Namaste
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