Struggles

Today I read a really inspiring article about the Goddess Akhilandeshvari from Hindu mythology. I don't know much about Hindu mythology (although it would be interesting to learn more about) but this article touched me in a peculiar way.

If you break down Akhilandeshvari it means the Goddess of never not broken. Never not broken... always broken. There are a lot of people in this world that inspire me. Friends, family, celebrities, etc. But it is always the yogis that I find touch me in a unique way. I normally end up following their blog or twitter account and assume that everything in their life is perfect. They've got this whole thing called life figured out. Which surprisingly is pretty depressing as I am so far from perfect it's kind of a joke. I make mistakes. I fall. I have those days where I just don't want to get out of bed because of family issues or drama that's happening in my life. It has taken me a long time to realize that everyone, literally everyone, has moments in their lives that are like this. It is normal. And it should be seen not as a miserable time in your life, but as a time for recreation.

Akhilandeshvari derives her power from being broken. She teaches us that by being broken we never have the limitations of being whole. We can constantly rebuild, shape and sculpt who we are as people. Broken-ness can help us to rid our lives of the toxic routines that as a race we normally cling to. I don't know about you but I have always striven for routines in my life. Weather that be in my work, personal, or yogic life. Routine can sometimes be boring but it can also provide familiarity and comfort. I think it is human nature to strive for these things in our lives.

When you are broken your routines and comforts become screwed up. You get the opportunity to recreate what you want to do, where you want to go, who you want to share your life with. By never being not broken you can makes these choices until your very last breath. I find this truly inspiring. It's one of the best examples of taking a situation and turning it from negative to positive.

A friend of mine is moving to the other side of the country in the next few days. We went for coffee to catch up before he left not too long ago and I was shocked by what he said to me. We were talking about our careers and how I'm having a hard time deciding on what I want to do in my life. There are so many restrictions financially, physically, mentally, etc that I feel are holding me back. He called bullshit and told me that I am letting them control me. He said that I need to make a decision about something that I truly love and run with it. Make it work instead of making reasons why it won't work. If it doesn't end up working then oh well. You start over again. He pointed out all of the comforts that I hold on to in my life. The routines, the luxuries. He told me about how he was in the same place in his life only a few months ago but by taking the risk to go for what he really wanted to do in life the universe rewarded him with getting it. He is now moving to Vancouver to further his career as an actor/director/producer in hopes of eventually going to Hollywood.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all have moments in our lives where we feel at our lowest. Where it seems like everything is going wrong. But it is in these moments that we get to choose a new path for our life and to run with it. We shed our life of the bad relationships, bad jobs, or bad habits that we form and we recreate ourselves. Just remember that this process should never end. We should never be not broken.