Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense.
– Rumi
When we are facing a choice or decision in our lives, we often ask ourselves “What is the right thing to do?” This, of course, seems like a valid question. However, what I have noticed, is that this question can often cause a lot of mental turmoil, and going backwards and forwards between different options, outcomes etc. It can also be interesting to consider who or what is defining the “right thing”. It is an external authority? Is it the voice of our parents? Is it an internalised judge? Who is defining “right” and “wrong”?
So how do we find our way through this potential confusion? It can be really helpful to take time to sit quietly and simply be aware of how we are feeling in our bodies and emotions – to literally give ourselves some breathing space. From this quieter place, we can place a question in our hearts “What is it that I really want?” or “What would be of most benefit at this time?” “What is life asking of me?” It can be like the experience of dropping the question into a still pond and seeing what comes to the surface of the water. If we can allow ourselves to be open and curious. we may be surprised by what we hear or we may receive confirmation of what we already intuitively know.
This is really a practice of allowing and trusting the deeper intelligence that lives within all of us, when we take the time to give it our attention.