I almost fell out when she said,

“You wouldn’t let you car run on empty, would you?”

Was she kidding? I never got gas until the gas light had been on long enough that I was mentally planning what I would do and who I would call if I ran out of gas before I could find a gas station.

Every. Single. Time.

My first thought was, “isn’t that what the gas light is for?”

My second was a deep understanding of how greatly my tendency to literally run on empty and wait until the last possible moment to fill myself up or ask for help paralleled so many other aspects of the way I’d been living my life.

Over the years I’ve noticed this to be a major continual point of growth for me.

Again and again and again.

It comes in different ways, but the lessons are always the same: 

1. Fill up before I need to.
2. Take care of the basic life tasks because they are the foundation for everything else.
3. Ask for help before I feel stuck or stranded.

I’m reminded of the many teachers who have told tales of their teachers recommending cooking, cleaning, and gardening as prerequisites to spiritual lessons. 

I tend to want to jump ahead.

I have no interest in gardening and while I enjoy baking and cooking interesting and healthful meals, I am not passionate about it. I love a clean home, and despise clutter, but instead of taking the lead on helping my family minimize “stuff” I get overwhelmed and find ways to avoid it completely.

I’d add nurturing a healthful relationship to money, managing time commitments, and making sleep a priority to the list of recommended practices as well. 

All of these are essentially first chakra issues. I tend to be deficient in this area and perpetually find myself trying to fill in the foundation after the castles have been built.

As Pema Chodron reminds us “What we call obstacles are really the way the world and our entire experience teach us where we’re stuck. Whether we experience what happens to us as obstacle and enemy or as teacher and friend entirely depend on our perception of reality. It depends on our relationship with ourselves.” 

So, for a very long time I’ve been working on seeing this seemingly unhelpful piece of my nature as a teacher, in all of the forms in which it manifests.

Once we see the lesson presented we must take action to truly learn it. We have to do our homework. 

At the moment my homework consists of scheduling and committing to financial check-in dates, initiating weekly family clutter clearing parties, getting creative with our dinners, and spending more time getting into my body outside of yoga by dancing, paddleboarding, and playing outside.

I’m not going for perfect, I’m going for sustainable progress.

If I were to set goals that were too far out of my natural tendencies I’d surely fail. Failing over and over in the same area would lead me to believe that I couldn’t change and succeed. 

We all have these samskaras, grooves or patterns we find ourselves perpetually working to overcome.

It is a normal part of the human experience and part of our spiritual development.

The yogi, when aware of unhelpful patterns in her thoughts, words, and actions — begins to choose differently. 

I’m curious as to how this resonates with you.

What lesson are you continually learning in various ways? How can you commit to choosing differently?

Please leave a comment below and let me know.

I’d love to get a great conversation going here. Perhaps it can start with you.

Much love,

Katie