I'm Willing

When I took massage training, my instructor was very into energy work. I am very grateful for all the knowledge she shared as I learned a lot that I use every day. She believed we could heal ourselves if we were willing. However, she also told us to never say we were willing unless we were sure we wanted to take on all the challenges which would go along with saying “I’m willing to …” I had many amazing experiences in her class and experienced some personal healing; I was able to leave my allergies behind. So, because of my teacher, I’ve always told people the same thing my teacher told me.
In the past couple of days, I’ve realized there are no extra challenges that go along with saying “I’m willing …” I believe what happens is, once we utter those words, our awareness shifts so we become more cognizant of our desire to be different in the normal everyday challenges we face. I believe, before we say “I’m willing …,” we react as we always have, based on our habits learned throughout life, and ignore our discomfort or just figure it is part of life. Once we say “I’m willing …,” we begin to notice our reactions and have a strong desire to change them which makes the discomfort of our normal experiences seem bigger than before. I think the mere act of being aware of our reactions and desire for change makes us notice the challenges more strongly. Of course, in order to get to a new place, we must first recognize how we currently react. After we are aware of how we handle our everyday challenges then we can choose a new way of responding to the challenge.
I think there is a strong fear of the unknown. Maybe even a fear that we are unable to change. However, our minds are programmed for change and love to develop and learn. It is what keeps us interested. Scientists have even theorized it helps stave off Alzhiemer’s. Letting go of the standard non-loving responses in life frees us up to enjoy the beauty, love, and light around us. It allows us to live with less stress, to laugh more, and experience more joy. It allows us to notice more about our surroundings because we can spend less time focusing on the negative. The negative becomes less prominent because we respond to it less and, therefore, it ceases to be important in our lives.