The Feedback Loop Lights the Way
I find myself often ping ponging between the two: confusion and clarity. Sometimes the sky is falling, I don’t know what to do. I’m angry at the injustice in the world, the fallibility of man, so susceptible to greed and other vice, or to the manipulations of the powerful.
And sometimes I do it to myself, I flip The Chaos Trigger. Whether it’s diving into the morass of social media or making unhealthy choices for my body, the confusion, and chaos, can often be self-inflicted.
On the grander scale, I often feel helpless, and I worry for the world becoming that our children will inherit. I think about how people become what they become and wonder if those so far astray from peace can change. How does something so imbued with basic goodness, innocence, joy, wonder, become bad? I had this thought when both of my children were born, one in a birthing center and one in our bedroom beside me. I think part of the answer is being out of touch with our internal feedback loop.
The Peace Trigger. And these memories I just shared, about the birth of my children, did the thing. What thing? They did the clarity thing. Sometimes it all makes sense. Sometimes the vibrance and beauty of our natural gifts and those of our fellow people and the playfulness of the wild things overwhelms me, with a sense of calm. All is right, and I take it in and bask in the gift of life I’ve been given, and the people I’ve found, as small a circle as it may be, and the ones we are raising. Clarity comes when I recognize the one true reality. Life is finite and short, and there is much that is troublesome but still there is beauty. (Hint: this mantra is a peace trigger containing both acceptance and inspiration, try it!)
Tapping into the Beauty. I know better what sets me spinning. What brings the bad thoughts, the depression, the anxiety, but even knowing doesn’t make me immune from a return trip the well of wallow. Knowing does allow me to recognize my slide and get back to what works. Return to What Works is a mindfulness hint of The Daily Here and Now and it goes like this:
The first goal is to learn what matters, what works. There is no need to constantly change focus. If you’ve found the important things, stick with them.
This is true of many aspects of our lives. For me, at a high level are the categories of movement, mindfulness, and meditation. Practically, this means that I execute my movement, stretching, and strength exercise every single day. I stop each day and ask myself if I have acted without recognizing my biases or pauses to appreciate my many blessings. I meditate on the earth or on nothing or on my sorrow, trying to clear all else away and accept reality. On a micro level, this lesson could point to a great author, someone who always stimulates your brain, the power of music to soothe almost any ill feeling or thought, or that fact that eating less and right, and not wasting food, pays plentiful dividends to the body, and your mind.
Find it for Yourself. Because it is true about the journey, each of us can enjoy the process of finding what brings us peace individually. There will be common threads of course but the timing, execution, and results may vary. It can take time, but great leaps forward await! This speaks to The Feedback Loop, a sub-system of intuition, and how important it is to respect our own. The primary reason I stopped eating meat ten years ago was the way my body and mind felt and performed. Sure, there were environmental and moral concerns, but the start was the feedback loop. What else? My practice, time in nature, the sweat cycle (not to be confused with the sweet cycle), learning something new, and tapping into powerful memories, like the amazing birth of those sweet boys. They bring me back and minimize the rebound as Djokovic would say.
The more we learn what brings us clarity, the more we learn what brings us confusion, and more accustomed we become to transitioning away from unproductive states. And this cycle of self-improvement can make us best positioned to help others in our lives during their rough spots and help the world. Presence is another form of clarity, and we can all tap into it in different ways. I eager to know what works for you.
Be Good to Yourself,
– Ken
For more on The Feedback Loop, follow Instagram: @DailyHereandNow
The Cultural Easton 