IN AYURVEDA WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME FOCUSED ON HOW DIFFERENT WE ARE FROM ONE ANOTHER — HOW UNIQUE WE ARE BOTH IN CONSTITUTION AND EXPERIENCE.
But we’re all also in the same boat and remembering this may just allow us to find inspiration and support where we once otherwise saw little reference or connection. Then we begin to see that we just have different paddles, each navigating our way down (or up) a different river.
We all live in human bodies.
We are all made of flesh, blood, and bone, with brains, hearts, and lungs to power us.
Our paddles — the tools we use to move through the world — vary, as do the bodies of water — the environments — in which we find ourselves. Some of us use our acumen to get where we want to go. Some use our smiles, kindness, language or athletic abilities. Some of these qualities we were born with and others are skills we have learned. Some of us may be moving along paths that are like rushing rivers; others may be on a large, still lake. We have all felt, at one time or another, tossed about on a stormy ocean.
Through all this, we are never really alone. There is inspiration all around us in the form of other people making their way through the world, in a very similar boat.
So next time you feel like you so different that you’re all alone, look around you for the role models, companionship and encouragement that abound.
