What is, Is

I’ve been struck lately with the idea (so not new!) to acknowledge what is…simply for what it is. As with many things these days, I’m less referring to what is on the outside, since that in any case is a reflection of what is on the inside.

I’m rather referring to the power and (immediate) impact it has, when a feeling, a sense, a sensation is taken, labelled, and seen for what it is. It can be fairly easy when it comes to the most surface level sentiments, such as “I am tired”. It can be way more difficult to grant ‘shame’ space, ‘embarrassment’, ‘boredom’, or ‘hate’.

And yet, our feelings and our bodily responses are the most direct and intimate feedback that we can get. It is uniquely ours, it is us. (Thoughts can be manipulated but that’s beyond the scope of these reflections)

I feel an incredible relief when I’m turning towards myself, turning towards the part inside of me that feels expressive, and gently acknowledge, “Yes, that is indeed how I feel in this moment”. There is then no need to push to the side, to correct, to improve, or to find a smart solution. As Thomas Hübl poignantly says, “Reacting is acting before feeling. Responding is action informed by feeling.”

There is no rush to get to the response though. Maybe once we have fully felt the feeling or the body sensation, we realise that we could easily let it go. But more often than not a response emerges, from deep within us. Way smarter and to the point and constructive than our mental quick fixes could have possibly been.

In becoming truly “self-aware” (selbstbewusst…in its German version often mistaken for self-confident), our urge to blame someone on the outside, for handing over responsibility, diminishes. If only for the reason that it takes time, space, and energy to stick to oneself, rather than finding the fault or fix on the outside.

Meditation is an entryway and reliable tool to access the “What is, Is”-mindset. Granting yourself the time here and there to become more connected, increases your capacity to rely on yourself and your innermost expression as your state of being.

Here are a number of meditations (5-20 minutes in length) that might be helpful for you for some “What is, Is”-”I am who I am”-vibe.