Triumph – Week 6 of 40 Days To Personal Revolution
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The media bombards us with images and culture about how we ‘should’ be, ways to be a ‘winner’ or ‘get ahead of the game’. Triumph is the theme of the last week of 40 days programme, and it is also a recognition that triumph is present and available whenever we follow our inner compass and commit to actions wholeheartedly. As these journeys – sometimes short, sometimes long – of endeavour complete, we might hope for tools to carve a new set of goals. Goals unrelated to success compared to others, but about developing ourselves, through self knowledge and acceptance. We might also do well to give ourselves our break and take it easy, one step at a time as it can be a hard struggle.
“The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.” Swami Sivananda
The ancient philosopher Heraclitus once said: “Man is most himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play”. The journey of 40 Days programme has involved becoming more ‘childlike’ and open but letting go of ‘childish’ ways that stop us moving forward.
Now is the time to go back into the real world, taking helpful habits we have picked up with us. We might have developed a stronger asana practise, a more focused meditation and be clearer about which foods nourish us. However, this doesn’t mean we can never have our favourite treats again…
As Baron Baptiste says
“Remember to use your newly found radar of how much is enough. If your body is clean, balanced and healthy, it can accommodate foods that might not necessarily be considered nutritious for the body but feed on another level. Again, it’s all about balance. Life is meant to be enjoyed and food can be a wonderful part of that. Some of my happiest times with my kids are when we stop for ice cream after one of their athletics games, or when we are out for Chinese food. I wouldn’t change those moments or memories for anything.”
Your completion of the forty days is not the end of anything, It is only the beginning of a flexible life, where you can find triumph in staying open to growing and transforming. Somewhere along the way we get to the point where we need to share our experiences too.
Baron Baptiste tells his students:
“It is not enough just to shine – we have to go out in to the world and share the shine.”
There is a story of a farmer whose corn always won first prize in the state fair. Afterwards he then always shared his prize seed with the community. When asked why he pointed out that if his neighbours had inferior corn when the seed cross pollinates on the wind – it would affect his adversely. Thus we all benefit from sharing the best.
We might remember the triumph in small changes, small victories accumulate to great ones, the triumph in sharing, in overcoming each obstacle one at a time, finding the value in stillness and seeking the truth.
Law 11 – Be Still and know
- Silence is a great help to the seeker too truth.. in the attitude of silence, the soul finds the path in clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.
A meditation practise might be a hard discipline, but by turning our energy inward into stillness, we might connect to a strong calm that reaps rewards throughout the day.
As Baron Baptiste says:
“Each morning there is a war within me. My human side does not want to meditate and be still, but because of my commitment, my spiritual side wins that moment.”
Resentments and self-betraying habits can keep us on a painful track but following healthier practises can bring us back to vitality, well being and good energy. Buddha describes how consciousness works for him – the law of karma, law and effect action and reaction – how the energy you put out comes back.
“Silence is a great help to a seeker of truth, like myself. In the attitude of silence, the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. – Gandhi
Law 12 – Understand that the whole is the goal
- You cannot do wrong in one part of your life and expect to do right in all the others.
- True health is more than just the sum of the parts. We don’t transform in parts.
“In nature, the overall principles represent a higher reality than does the single object.” – Albert Einstein
“The goal here is to make peace with all the tendrils and conflicts of your life, both inside and out, weaving the strands together into your own spiritual coat of many colours. In the end, if you dedicate your energies to detaching from struggle, giving up fear, taking right action, and practising true patience within yourself you will find that all the pieces of your life begin to radiate with the luminosity of whole and true health” – Baron Baptiste