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Today's
Meditation:
Oh, how dangerous those ruts are! How deeply
they can harm us; how deceitful their
attractiveness! So many of us like to be in ruts,
like to be "comfortable" doing the same things
over and over again-- but the human being wasn't made to
constantly do the same things. We stagnate if we get
too comfortable, if we cease to take risks and try new
things, yet many of us feel that stepping out of the ruts
represents a risk that's too dangerous to take, for it may
destroy us.
But that's not true. There are times when ruts are
pretty good to have-- providing a safe and steady home for
our children comes to mind-- but for the most part, we
thrive as human beings when we step out of our safety
zones and try new and different things. We grow when
we test our limits, when we don't do the same things today
that we've done for the last zillion days. Whether
we're thrown out of our ruts (layoffs, broken
relationships, etc.) or step out of them on our own,
getting out of a rut allows us to tap into potential and
possibility that simply weren't there before we decided to
change things up.
Stepping out of a rut represents a challenge, and
challenges are what allow us to shine, to prove to
ourselves that we are able to overcome obstacles and rise
to the occasions that test us and our abilities to
persevere and create and be innovative. It's
important that we spend the time necessary to recognize
what's a rut and what's truly necessary in our lives, and
then to decide what to do when we recognize a rut.
Personally, I don't like them, and I don't like the false
sense of comfort that they instill in me.
Take a chance-- step out of those ruts that are keeping you
down, or that are forcing you to stay exactly the same as
you are, without the chance of growing or developing or
becoming stronger or more loving or innovative or
creative. The rut may be comfortable, but comfort is
not what human beings were made for, even though sometimes
I kind of wish that it were. The truth is, though,
that our best sides shine forth when we're challenged, not
when we're doing the same safe things over and over again.
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