Let's take a little pause and appreciate what we have...

I recently came to the realization that I have been going through life on auto pilot and that I've been taking everything and everyone for granted....

I always got carried away by the endless challenges that would pop up. New adventures to learn from.... Rarely taking the time to breathe, reflect and project.

Having an iron deficiency and a thyroid that's not working properly forced me into taking it a lot more chill, which means I had quite some time to reflect on things....

Two things happened....

At first I felt frustrated as I couldn't do the things I'd normally do. I felt worthless as I needed A LOT of rest and couldn't get anything done with that crazy brain fog that accompanied me during the times I wasn't sleeping.

But then something interesting happened. I decided to not focus on what I didn't have, but on what I did have and accepted that this is just how it is for now and I might as well use this time to reflect on things and project myself in others.

Soon after I discovered I have so much to be grateful for! I have a roof above my head, more luxury than kings from hundreds of years ago could only dream of, I have people that love and support me,....

I started expanding it as well and realized the hard work and organisation that must have gone in me just being able to have my breakfast! Just a simple smoothie bowl with oats takes people to pluck my berries, to cultivate the oats, people to package it and for transport, stores that offer it etc. Quite crazy if you come to think of it!

Same with using water! An entire system is set up to make this possible. People are working hard to give us the opportunity to take a shower, flush our toilet, drink our water.

I kept exploring and felt very grateful for all these people who made my life so much more comfortable. Thanks everyone! <3

Then I started doing something else. I started to project in all sorts of people. I started off with close family and would project myself in their place and try to understand why they do the things they do and say the things they say. I'd fully project myself in them, going through their days and not judging them in any way.

Something else happened here! I realized that whenever people hurt me in the past, it was because they were suffering themselves and they too just wanted to be happy. They just didn't know how and tried to catch a glimpse of it by putting me down (so they would feel a bit better about themselves) or they just act it out and I was the lucky person that was around at the time. It wasn't a personal thing at all....

It felt both liberating and sad. As I realized that the people who caused me a lot of pain were the ones suffering the most and are still stuck in that endless loop.

After projecting in my close family members I expanded it. I would also project myself into people who spend time in Auschwitz concentration camps, into refugees trying to survive, people starving, victims of all sorts....

Soon the little "problems" I experienced melted away and I experienced gratefulness and gained quite some perspective by doing this.

I can only advice all of you to try and do this as it really helped me a lot to understand others and to let go of judging others and having trust issues....

Going through life on autopilot makes you miss out on the things that are the most important and only adds to the suffering of both you and others.

So let's all wake up and see what we can do for each other, as that is how our species can evolve and not only survive but also thrive!

Cheers and have a nice day still! <3

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Here are some other posts you might like!

1)How to stop taking things personally: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/stop-taking-things-personally
2)On asking favors: https://steemit.com/steemit/@athenajade/let-s-spread-that-steemit-love
3)How I got off my couch and started to run: https://steemit.com/health/@athenajade/couch-to-5k
4)On how language influences us: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/do-we-speak-the-same-language
5)On absolute truths: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/debate-1-is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-absolute-universal-truth
6)On the limitations our conditioning puts upon us: https://steemit.com/life/@athenajade/this-inner-cage-called-conditioning
7)On growing our own potential: https://steemit.com/life/@athenajade/whatever-you-are-doing-you-are-getting-better-at-it
8)Relax! https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/don-t-forget-to-relax-my-dear-steemians

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