A friend told me to try yoga. I must have looked like I needed it. And my first thought was: “I am too busy for yoga! I am too busy to…relax.” As I thought that, I realised it was exactly what I said to myself in the previous project as well. Deadlines, clients, deliverables, go! go! go! Where are all those worries now? Now I sit in front of the screen thinking exactly the same thing about a new project. And next month there will be yet another new project!
We do this to ourselves. I think part of it is the name we give to these stress inducing tasks: DEADLINES. We actually call them DEAD-LINES. And yet, there are arbitrarily imposed targets which suck our life force, creativity and sometimes our humanity.
Is there any other way to keep ourselves focused without invoking the fear of death in the process? An artist does not need a DEAD-LINE. That is a kill for creativity.
No matter what our jobs are, creativity makes the difference between average and exceptional. And the muses will not allow to be bullied into inspiring you by giving them DEAD-LINES, but on the contrary, you must be relaxed and playful to expect inspiration.
Having a DEAD-LINE hanging above your head as a Damocles’ sword, gives you more stress and smothers the creativity which would have otherwise made you do great work and even enjoy yourself.
Damocles’ sword refers to this myth Damocles. He was once was chilling with Dionysius, the king, and complimented him on his fancy life. The king decided to give Damocles a taste by inviting him to a banquet. But, oh no, Dionysius had secretly hung a sword above Damocles' head by a single horsehair. Talk about a party foul! Damocles was sweating bullets as he enjoyed his meal, knowing that the sword could drop at any moment.Damocles made it through dinner unscathed, but he never forgot that time he dined with death hanging over his head.
I am sorry to tell you that DEAD-LINES have been released upon the world ever since Pandora opened the box along with all her other gifts for humanity. There is no way to contain them or make them disappear. But, there is still hope! And that, my friend lies in meditation.
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman created by the gods. She was given a box by Zeus, which she was told never to open. But her curiosity got the best of her, and she opened it, unleashing all the world's evils, leaving only hope trapped inside.
Take deep breaths and ground yourself. And when you feel you are swimming in stress, let yourself be guided into relaxation.
Meditation is not only for yogis. Meditation is not only for people with nothing better to do. It is for all of us. And it starts with noticing. Notice your breath, notice your posture, notice your thoughts.
“But I am too busy for that! I am reading this silly article, and I am too busy for this.”
Well, if you get caught into this thought process, luckily there is a magic spell you can invoke that will make all your worries go away. Are you ready for it?
It goes like this: “Mmmmmmmmmm! Mmmmmmmmm!”
Have a peaceful day!