Act like a camel, my dear friends.  

Embarking on this 7 day mental diet has been truly amazing, in both subtle and apparent sense. 

Now that I am wrapping this up only goes to show that I will be continuing this journey of self-awareness, rather than letting the momentum go and snap back to where I started.

Once we have made that stretch, we remain there until things get comfortable again before we venture out. Hmm, why does it sound like the Hero’s Journey?

Speaking of this eBook, the author and also my friend Alvin, coincidentally also did his own “7 days of gratitude” a year ago! I have read them, and I recommend you do that too.

I can find a slight variation in our experiements. While he focused mainly on gratitude, I bring it out using the lens of a complainer. Meaning to say, I wanted to give myself a mental diet of “no-complains”, and in its place express my gratitude instead. 

Day 8 is the time for an overall review and compilation of all my gaining and reflection. And here is my report card.

I realised that I have this habit of complaining about food. Yet, it is so ironical that I am pretty easy-going on food! Except for some pet peeves like no parsley, and unless I have a very strong craving for a specific cuisine on that particular day, otherwise I usually go along with the others’ preference for whatever they wish to eat. When I am out with my sister, most of the time we share our meals. Therefore, what I eat is mostly dictated by her.

So, even though I complain about the taste not measuring up to my standard, I will still eat it. Could it be due to my reluctance to waste food, or is it because I’m too easy-going such that so long as the food is edible, I will finish it? Well, no doubt I may not enjoy that meal so much, but, who cares so long as my stomach is filled. Then why am I being such a big fuss by complaining when actually I’m not such a big fuss anyway?

WHY??? After figuring for a while, I got an answer. And as I rationalised my theory, I found out it could be a very important lesson we need to learn.  Due to its length, I will write it in another entry. So please re-visit again soon for this post.

Meanwhile let’s continue our focus on being grateful and explicitly expressing it.

As I re-read what I’ve written over the past 7 days, all the issues that had me grumbling seem to be well, quite minor. So, does this go to show that I love to nit-pick? I certainly don’t hope so. Micro-managing? Hmm, now this tends to hold certain amount of truths which I shan’t deny so flatly.

You see, our patterns of behaviour kind of reflect the type of person we are. Therefore, if you too like me, did some sort of exercise that is similar to this 7 days of gratitude, do not let your learnings go to waste! Think deeply, and see how much better you can learn about yourself through those experiences, and the distinct feelings and emotions you had during some specific moments.

Everything happens for a purpose. I truly am a sucker for this belief.

Take the results that came from your actions and search within for the answers.

Outward manifestion, inward revelation.

Act like a camel. I started off with this quote of mine, and I shall explain now why I say that.

When we first had any sort of experience, we usually don’t give it much thought. Either it’s inconvenient to do so then, or the lesson didn’t quite hit you with its full impact yet. 

A camel doesn’t chew its food well before swallowing. This poorly chewed food is then stored in one of its three stomach sections, waiting to be returned to the camel’s mouth for very well chewing and munching before it is re-deposited into the other parts of the stomach for proper digestion.

So how do we model the camels then?

When you have some quiet moments, take out those experiences which you have stored in some parts of your memory and mull over them, deliberately, slowly and deeply. This time round, make sure they are well-chewed before you re-deposit them in another part of your memory that says “Permanent to Long-Term Deposits”.

The juice that came out from all the munching could either be the gist of the food, or it could represent unwanted toxin that needs to be flushed away immediately from your body system. However, without this second round of chewing, you won’t be able to extract the good and bad out, much less to filter away the bad and store the good in forever.

And how does all this link to gratitude?

In many ways my friends.

If we don’t stop our complaining, we will never take out those events and re-chew them properly. Why? Because we have already chop, sign and deemed that event as over and not worthy of a second review! The event is sealed. So does our fate.

You may think I’m being very exaggerating. You can choose to say or even believe that. Really. Because ultimately, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of our thoughts!

Since I’ve committed not to complain, I have to honour my own promise. Therefore, I find myself proactively looking out for reasons to be grateful for those incidences. Even when they are over, I take them out again more frequently, or rather as often as I need to, until I am satisfied of what I have learnt. Which in this case also means I have found the true reasons to express my gratitude.

I smile

 

So, it’s the state in which we are in. The state will determine the various sort of reaction and responses we can have towards a situation. When I am in a grateful state most of the time, I find it so much easier to let go of the need to complain.

I am doing this on a very conscious level. So I am challenging myself to an even higher limit - to make this state part of my unconscious being. This means I will be in an ever-grateful state, even when things strike, my sub-conscious mind will immediately take over and put me in the state I need to be in.

How do we change states? Well that’s a totally different topic altogether. You can check out Alvin’s blog where he has lots of NLP goodies to share with you guys, if and when you are ready to start making differences in your life, now.  

As I was going through the points to write for this post in my mind, call it sheer concidence, or God’s will, but it so happened that my home session on Tuesday night was mainly on sacrifice and being grateful! Ha!

We were going through the lesson and learning about the meaning of the Lentern festival, when we need to fast, pray and give arms (i.e to sacrifice). At the end of the session, with the closing prayer, we were asked by our Catechist to each say something that we are grateful for. Usually only one person in the group will close the session with a prayer, so that night was the first when all of us had to chip in with our own share.

It was such a nice session, to hear everyone expressing their thankfulness and to also have the chance to voice out those words that have been churning and rolling in everyone’s heart for so long, including mine.  

One last thing to add is this. If there’s anything remains a constant which we like to be grateful for, it will be this.

Alvin can’t say it any better, so I decided to “copy and paste” his golden words here for your benefit too. (Thanks Alvin! Ya, I copy then I thank you, so.. :))

And the most obvious thing about the last 7 days that’s been all the same is; the things I’ve been most grateful more weren’t things; it was people. The people I love and who love me make my life rich beyond any of the material things that I’m have (which I’m grateful for too), and I am so so grateful to have them in my life.

I’m sure this is still how he feels now, 1 year and 14 days after he wrote those words. If not, even more grateful now then before. Am I right Alvin?

Here is the end of my report card. I hope my sharings and learnings will strike a same chord with you too, even if it’s a very minor note, I’m also glad that it has stirred a tiny weeny ripple in your heart. Who knows what that one drop in the ocean might bring?

How about you? Have you been re-chewing on your life experiences, especially those that you have brushed aside and swept under the carpet, concluding that you’ll never benefit anything from them, since they brought you nothing close to happiness in the first place?

How do you handle or face unpleasant situations? Are you able to see at least one point of goodness in it and still express your gratitude? Would you like to do that and see how it feels like, for a change?

I warmly welcome you to join me in this self-challenge. :)   

[tags]gratitude, camel, sharing, life lessons, reflection, experience, subconscious mind, conscious mind, awareness, personal development, treasured thoughts