Stay Sane

It is when we refuse to keep learning, to grow, that exact moment is when we start getting old.

As a child, we are open and interested, curious and experimental. “Old people” are those that are holding on to their established self-image, to who they think they are, to that which they think they know, to their comfort zone. But life is an ever changing phenomena, an unexpected and ever flowing game. When we lose the interest to play, to reinvent ourselves, to change, to learn, to dare and to be a student, then we know we have become old.

It’s really not always easy to be a student, for by its very definition you are the one that does not know.

I go to learn surfing. I don’t know how to surf, that is why I go to learn, if I was a surf expert I would not need to learn it, I would not need a teacher and perhaps I would not fall so much, … in such embarrassing ways. As a yoga teacher, I’m used to feeling confident with my body’s abilities, yoga is my comfort zone, having practiced yoga regularly since my early teens, it is a familiar homey environment for me, but when I get the opportunity to teach a newbie, or when out in the sea on the board – that is when the challenge is confronted.

There I am, a baby learning to walk, feeling so awkward next to all those other people that already know how to surf, I feel small. This smallness – this is being young, this is how a child feels. Accepting, embracing and enjoying it – this is willingness to grow, to expand.

I learn to play the harp, if I was a professional harpist I would know how to play, it may be a joyful way to self-express myself within a safe platform, but in that case, unless I will keep learning new things on the harp, it will not serve my wish and ability to expand myself.

In this strange times where everyone around is wishing you to stay safe, it is a time to wonder, to question and think about what is it that we really want?

Yes, sure, we all want to stay alive and live well, but can we really live if we don’t dare? If all we priorities is our safety, when all we aspire for is to stay safe? When I learn to surf, I fall, I fall many many times. I hurt myself on some rocks, I even step into some nasty sharp thrones and it’s painful to walk for many days. My back hurts, my belly is red and burning from the sticky wax on the board, my legs are excused, I’m so tired but I’m having such a fantastic time! I’m alive, learning something new, I’m immersed in the waves, the wind and nature as a whole. I’m not safe, I can get seriously hurt, and the closest proper hospital is so far way it’s scary to think about it, but up until some months ago we were all willing to risk some safety in exchange for adventure, in exchange for the unknown and the ability to grow.

I learn to play the harp, as an adult with no musical background it’s not easy but I love it! I constantly wish I was better already but I love it. I make mistakes, many mistakes, my ring fingers get blisters, my wrist hurts, my right shoulder gets tense. I’m not safe, but I’m not putting my need for safety way ahead of all my other precious needs, I have many needs – one of them is safety, others are inspiration, evolution, motivation, beauty and sanity. I love to play the harp, as frustrating as it can sometimes be, I also love learning to play the harp.

When we only stick to what we know, we become a swamp, no fresh water flows in and the water become stale, dirty and stinky. Safety without sanity is not only boring and unhealthy, it is actually dangerous.

Take care, stay sane.