Today I want to talk about mantras and one in particular.
Mantras are designed to help us remember key beliefs we hold close to our heart and can be used to direct our choices. They are repeated often. Mantras may also be called “affirmations.” Sometimes we align ourselves with a leader or group along with their sayings due to a spark being lit within. We just feel so good and empowered when we share this type of camaraderie.
Mantras can now be dowloaded and listened to via apps on our smart phones. Their use is often described as putting our mindset in the best place to tackle the day and life. But what happens when our day doesn’t quite shake out like the phrase we listened to on repeat while brushing our teeth or meditating for the day? What about that “Promise of God” from the book we read of daily devotions. Why didn’t God seem to pull through for me today? We are left to put a spin on what didn’t occur.
One common fitness mantra people continue to repeat to this day is, “No pain, no gain.” Seriously? Pain is a signal our body sends to alert us to potential danger. Another saying I used to hear in the gym frequently is, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” You get the idea. There are literally dozens of mantras written and designed to summarize beliefs. They are the Cliff Notes version of our value systems.
After a period of time we may begin to question these quotes. An uneasiness begins to creep inside our brain and we may find ourselves trying to determine our location again. Do I really believe “this”? At its deepest level what does this even mean?
I’m going out on a ledge here. In fact, I feel myself at the very precipice and someone is going to apply a gentle push from behind after reading my challenge for the day because I will have touched a relatively sensitive spot. The other perspective is I’m teetering on the edge in preparation for a “free” fall. A literally freeing of myself for the need of any type of phrase to shore me up. In either case, as always, I expect anyone who reads my writing is an adult and can make up their own minds regarding my exploration of ideas.
For today: This is me. I am going to tackle one mantra, dissect it and bury it once and for all. I hope. If I don’t, I will begin to question my value and worth as a person….again. Are you ready?
“DON’T BE A DONKEY! BE A THOROUGHBRED!”
I have struggled for awhile now since I stopped running with the horses. Exhaustion took over. I couldn’t keep up the pace, compete, do whatever it took to become a thoroughbred. Now I wonder, what does that even mean? If you’re a donkey, does that mean you are an ass? Less of a person? Shamed and shameful? I have been crawling away and hanging my head believing that I have become a donkey. My personal and professional worth suffered.
Yesterday while on a little exploration in my community I met a woman who began telling me about the properties nearby, If I kept going down the road, I would meet a couple of cute donkeys. My excursion expanded to seeing the donkeys and I was not disappointed. They were miniatures, incredibly sweet and adorable! Several hours later I was still thinking about those donkeys and the mantra telling me I didn’t want to become one. So I did what any curious person would do, pulled out my smart phone, initiated search and voila’! I discovered why I DO WANT TO BE A DONKEY! Here is what I learned from two great articles.
The first article is “14 Reasons Why a Donkey is the Ideal Hiking Companion” on a website I found called “The Hiking life.Com“
“2. Donkeys have an acute sense of self-preservation and are a good judge of whether or not a situation is potentially dodgy. It’s nigh on impossible to persuade a donkey to take a route or path that they consider dangerous.
3. Donkeys have great memories. They are said to be able to recognize areas where they have previously been up to 25 years before. A very useful quality while route-finding in challenging terrain.
4. …..donkeys are widely considered to be the Chuck Norris of the Equidae family.
5. They may be harder than a coffin nail, but donkeys are also playful, kind, and fiercely loyal through thick and thin.
8. …..donkeys can make good guard animals. They are quite territorial by nature and less skittish than horses….
10. Donkeys are humble and historically under-appreciated…..”
From the website thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk:
“They are highly intelligent creatures, sociable, calm, capable of independent thinking and decision making. They are strong and won’t do something they consider unsafe, which makes them a great, trusted companion. Donkeys are quite simply amazing.”
There are many articles and blogs about why you want donkeys in your life! There are reasons and situations donkeys are BETTER than horses. So maybe, just maybe I want to become a donkey.
OR……
Maybe you can be both. Perhaps as we dig deeper into my premise of the need or dismissiveness for mantras comes from the way they are written. “Don’t be a donkey; be a thoroughbred” is an either/or situation. It would appear you can’t be both. The old nothing is grey philosophy. Living in an either/or world doesn’t work for me in many situations. Yes, I do believe there are absolute truths. Even as I type I find myself wrestling with how to express myself. Examination is good. Questioning is profitable. Listening to the inner nudge moves us to growth. My thoughts (some will say disguised as advice) for today is when you begin to feel unsettled, unworthy, uneasy inside become curious. The minute we think we have all of life wrapped up and tied with a bow, it begins to fall apart. We will meet someone whose life is beautiful to behold but doesn’t entirely align with our “package” of beliefs. What then?
Are there any mantras you need to examine? No longer fit like that well-tailored suit you once strutted around in? Time to shed some beliefs proving themselves not quite true any more?
I have accomplished my personal task for the day which was to bury the Donkey/Thoroughbred mantra once and for all. I’m happy being a donkey. Sometimes I’m off and running full speed too. Be both. Be YOU.
From the Ordinary 