By Jill Roberts
Sometimes in the moment, it’s hard to interpret what I’m feeling. Especially when I’m presented with a new, or different set of circumstances, when unfamiliar can feel awkward and uncomfortable.
By default, my brain searches through memories and prescribed social norms in an attempt to emotionally classify the experience—Should this feel good?…Should I be upset?…Should I be frightened? Except, when I scroll through a database of prescribed reactions from similar past scenarios, I’m not viewing each new life experience with a fresh perspective. It’s like tasting a new wine before cleansing my palette of the former.
There was time when I would immediately react from those initial emotions, which were inherently bias. Instead of viewing a circumstance with fresh eyes, I added preconceived judgements. At times it caused me to quickly express disinterest or dissatisfaction, or even walk away from situations that may have offered opportunities.
To live, is to continually expose ourselves to new and different experiences. To grow, is to take in each moment with an open mind. It’s okay to consume life as it unfolds, and allow its display of complexities to commence. Life isn’t a recirculation of the old, rather a delivery of something new.
Like a caterpillar, which will turn away from nectar until it transforms into a butterfly, we too as humans evolve through a spiritual process. What before may have appeared dull and colorless, may delight in wonderful color, if we view it with a change in perspective.