This past week has been filled with ups and downs. I have not put in effort towards the business or the Sikh student group. I have had a few conversations, and enjoyed time with people who I haven’t spent time with before.
People
I got to spend time with some Desi’s (people with cultural ties to India or of Indian Origin) from the law school that I haven’t spent time with before. We went to eat dosa’s, and spent time laughing and enjoying each others’ company. My friends had started the SALSA (South Asian Law Student Association) this year. They urged me to consider working with SALSA as an umbrella org to promote Sikh awareness.
It’s a thought, but my vision for SLS (Sikh Law Society) is an activist organization, promoting Sikh values to instill more activism within the global legal community. We’ll see how it pans out.
Volunteering
The smile of service
I also got a chance to do food packing volunteering for 2 hours with Meditation Club members and other kind, giving souls. Doing selfless service in the company of others with the same giving spirit is so inspiring and brings me so much joy. I felt touched and motivated to explore my vision. I felt clear-headed and full of grace.
During the work, a close friend and I talked about our spiritual journeys, and how we ended up where we are today. I cherished the opportunity to learn more about someone I care deeply for. We also talked about working on bigger projects we might have. He mentioned that spending 30 min a day towards a project is fairly easily, and results in huge strides towards realizing our respective visions. It hit me that I really need to put more into my vision each day. That’s starting today.
Lessons
While I haven’t done too much this past week, I learned that it’s ok and often necessary to take time off to rest. I dedicated fully to doing nothing on Friday. I watched a movie, cleaned a little bit, read and wrote. It felt good to release, and I’m ready and energized to do the things I need to do. There’s no need to fear rest.
Another thing I realized talking to my mom yesterday is that fear and happiness are both necessary to do what we need to do. She talked about taking care of patients in the hospital who lost their legs to diabetes. So often we hide from the Truth of our actions, from what might result from our daily choices. Yet, it’s sometimes necessary to see how much diabetes can destroy our lives when we neglect our daily health. Exercise, a good, healthy diet, vitamins, all these things help us live long, happy lives.
Having the fear of death along with the excitement of a healthy life, realizing our full potential, can jolt us into action. Thinking about it more deeply, I realized that fear and excitement, when pushing us into discomfort, are good. Fear and excitement, when pushing us to comfort, is bad (like fear of meeting new people, excitement of playing video games, etc.). Essentially, when we seek out discomfort, we grow. When we grow, we can look back on a life well lived.
Your Turn
That’s all I’ve got for today.
I’m curious though, do you agree that seeking out discomfort is necessary for a life well lived? Why or why not?
