HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU KNOW?
"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." Plato
Hi, my name is Michele and I'm a knowledge junkie!" There, I've said it. I LOVE learning. Reading, learning, writing have always been my saviours, my best coaches and mentors, my wisest guides and my form of escape, healing and therapy.
Every morning (except Sunday because, well, it's Sunday), I spend 10 minutes writing. Well actually, before I even start writing, I have a couple of little rituals or practices to get me in the right place for writing....
I find a quiet and comfy spot in the house away from everyone.
I light my candle that sits by my crystals and get some nice smells on the go in an oil burner. Usually lavender and camomile works for me.
I get some meditative background music or binaural beats on low.
I grab my favourite journal and pen. A good pen that feels right in your hand and flows is so important to me.
Why? Well, writing serves so many purposes for me...
It clears my often cluttered mind.
It helps me to make sense of things.
It gets my creative juices flowing.
It's a great form of escape.
It's a form of therapy.
This first writing session of the day is special though. I don't do anything else before I make my way to my writing spot. No cup of tea, no getting dressed and definitely no talking to anyone. Writing early in the morning before my day starts and when my mind is still feeling semi sleepy is when I do my best stuff. It's when I can write without purpose, intention or task. It's when I can just write for writing's sake and simply to empty my mind ready for the day. Sometimes I ask a question of my sleepy head and today I asked "What do I need to know today?"
Oh my goodness, what a leading question that turned out to be. Wow. Here's a little extract from what flowed forth on to the page...
"Wouldn't it be good to think you know enough? How do you know when you've reached 'enough'? Where does knowing come from?...From within? If it comes from within, how did it get there? Was it always there? Can we allow ourselves to not know?...Sometimes not knowing leads to just 'being'. Just being is always enough and always the route to knowing."
Knowing enough isn't about feeling like a guru. It isn't about arrogantly believing you have nothing left to learn. It isn't about being an enlightened being. I love learning. I'm fascinated by everything and everyone and I'm a knowledge sponge. I'm a self confessed multipotentialite who loves to experience lots of different things. BUT, it can often be the source of my fear and frustration.
I have so many things on the go...books, courses, trainings, my own programmes and things I'm excited to share with my clients. I used to have lots of clients on the go at one time until I 'learned' that it didn't serve them, or me well. I struggle to say no because I love it all so much. I have to protect myself, create healthy, strong boundaries because this can often lead to lack of completion and implementation, and that leads to frustration. I can feel that because I've not completed and implemented, I've failed or I don't know enough. My old friend fear shows up and before I know it, I'm getting less done, less completed and more fearful and frustrated.
So, my practice of morning writing helps me to recalibrate. Asking what I need to know allows me to laser focus on just this day. When I ask what I need to know today, I often get the answer "You already know enough." and I do. Don't get me wrong, I don't know and haven't learned nearly as much as I'd like to before I shuffle off, and I will definitely continue to learn, knowledge gather and have varied experiences. I'm a multipotentialite remember? But, when I feel lack of focus, feel overwhelmed and scattered, I'll be asking this question again, and again, and again. "What do I need to know today?"
Are you constantly on a quest to 'knowing'? How will you know when you know enough? What will you do with all that knowing if you ever have enough of it? What do you need to know today?