“Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” - Obi Wan Kenobi
Yes, I just quoted Star Wars, but I told you before that I’m a Star Wars geek. But really, I can think of no better way of saying what Obi Wan makes so clear here. Did Darth Vader kill Luke’s father, or was he Luke’s father? Well, both. It depends on Luke’s point of view.
Lawyers get paid to have a point of view and to stick with it. After all, we must protect our clients’ position, and our clients’ positions become our own. Yoga, on the other hand, teaches us to see life from many points of view. Inversions literally force us to look at the world upside down. In my second post, I talked about the need to let go and see the argument from the other side, to let go of only one way of seeing the world in order to see the full picture.
But how does our perspective change our own outlooks? As of August 20, I no longer work at the court. My job was only scheduled to last one year, and that is when it ended. So, for two weeks now, I have been “unemployed.” Sure, I have found some contract work, and I have been teaching yoga, but without full-time employment, I was feeling a bit rejected, even having the time to attend 1-2 yoga classes per day.
This morning, my perspective changed.
While taking a walk this morning (another benefit of being without full-time employment), I realized that this unemployment has allowed me to reach out to people I would not have otherwise met. I have sent 100 or so emails to various people asking for work. Through those emails I have talked to several people, and I have some more meetings set up. I have also set up my first Stress Management for Lawyers through Yoga and Meditation workshop, which is exactly what I want to be doing.
It is an old mantra - bad situations are just blessings in disguise; we should see the opportunity even in difficult situations; when life throws you lemons, make lemonade. But cliches become cliches for a reason - they are true. And yes, it is true that each situation, even if it looks terrible, has the potential to be an amazing opportunity with a little change in perspective.
Of course, this is not always the case. Some situations are truly difficult, but as I said in the last post, learning to respond, rather than react, allows us to change our perspective and confront situations with all of the necessary information. Yoga gives us the strength and courage to allow our points of views to be dismantled. It can be scary and hard, but in the end, it could just lead to the winning argument.
Namaste!
Yes, I just quoted Star Wars, but I told you before that I’m a Star Wars geek. But really, I can think of no better way of saying what Obi Wan makes so clear here. Did Darth Vader kill Luke’s father, or was he Luke’s father? Well, both. It depends on Luke’s point of view.
Lawyers get paid to have a point of view and to stick with it. After all, we must protect our clients’ position, and our clients’ positions become our own. Yoga, on the other hand, teaches us to see life from many points of view. Inversions literally force us to look at the world upside down. In my second post, I talked about the need to let go and see the argument from the other side, to let go of only one way of seeing the world in order to see the full picture.
But how does our perspective change our own outlooks? As of August 20, I no longer work at the court. My job was only scheduled to last one year, and that is when it ended. So, for two weeks now, I have been “unemployed.” Sure, I have found some contract work, and I have been teaching yoga, but without full-time employment, I was feeling a bit rejected, even having the time to attend 1-2 yoga classes per day.
This morning, my perspective changed.
While taking a walk this morning (another benefit of being without full-time employment), I realized that this unemployment has allowed me to reach out to people I would not have otherwise met. I have sent 100 or so emails to various people asking for work. Through those emails I have talked to several people, and I have some more meetings set up. I have also set up my first Stress Management for Lawyers through Yoga and Meditation workshop, which is exactly what I want to be doing.
It is an old mantra - bad situations are just blessings in disguise; we should see the opportunity even in difficult situations; when life throws you lemons, make lemonade. But cliches become cliches for a reason - they are true. And yes, it is true that each situation, even if it looks terrible, has the potential to be an amazing opportunity with a little change in perspective.
Of course, this is not always the case. Some situations are truly difficult, but as I said in the last post, learning to respond, rather than react, allows us to change our perspective and confront situations with all of the necessary information. Yoga gives us the strength and courage to allow our points of views to be dismantled. It can be scary and hard, but in the end, it could just lead to the winning argument.
Namaste!
Yes! That's exactly how I get through bad times, especially when you can't immediately see the good. Sometimes it's a day, a week, a year, a lifetime down the road that you finally see the connection. It's not always bad things either, everything that happens in your life happens for a reason, even the "bad" stuff. Even running late - maybe you missed an accident. There's often no way to know for sure but sometimes it's easy to see, like with your example.
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