"Live simply, so others may simply live."

-Gandhi


Of course Gandhi said that. He's the most well-known ascetic in the world.




as·cet·ic1.2.3.

   [uh-set-ik]  Show IPA

noun

a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit ofcontemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial orself-mortification for religious reasons.

a person who leads an austerely simple life, especiallyone who abstains from the normal pleasures of life or denies himself or herself material satisfaction.

(in the early Christian church) a monk; hermit.

Really, I'm blessed. I know it. Not because of success or wealth or wonderful family and friends, though some of those are very blessed things in my life. No, I'm more blessed because whenever I start to get my panties in a bunch; whenever I find myself spiraling down a self-constructed black-hole of fear, doubt and worry, I find my way back to things like the quote above from Gandhi, and remember films like I AM by Tom Shadyac, and recall, somehow, that none of the things I'm worrying about are actually even a problem for me right now. Right now I'm just fine. Right now is actually beautiful.


Easier said than done, of course. But I don't think I'd come to this quite so clearly if I didn't hit the bottom of my spiraling black hole.


The cool thing about my black hole, which is vastly different from actual black holes, is that I can actually get out of it. The force of gravity is metaphoric and figurative, not actual. The other cool thing, which is similar to actual black holes (in theory since no one has been able to test), is that it serves as a time-travel worm-hole. 


It brings me out of my negative-future-projection funk and snaps me back to the present, with a quick tour of my past to remind me how things always work out for me. 


Always.


Besides my black hole, documentary films, conversations with loved ones, reading books, quotes, old journals and blogs, and a good night's sleep all aide me in returning home to the equanimity, trust and calm that allow me to breathe and smile again.


My question for all of you out there is, what aides and helps you return to equanimity when you're in your own funk?


What sheds light on your black hole?




What helps you time travel back to the present?