Rhythms of life
When a baby is crying, what calms and soothes the baby is rhythm, the gentle swaying in consistent repetition. When an athlete is preparing for a competition, the key part of the athlete’s success is the discipline of regular training. Rhythm. The consistency and regularity of whatever effort you are undertaking determines success.
I go to biannual retreats, I meditate every morning. It’s this rhythm that gives stability to my life. In work, every Wednesday I go to the estero, every Monday I have plenary meetings, etc. I determine what I would do and it’s the every that determines success.
The key to life is to determine the rhythm that is necessary for life to flow gracefully in an evolutionary direction. Then one needs the discipline and willpower to undertake it — in enough determination to overcome laziness or lack of energy.
My father had rhythm in his life. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why he was so successful. He followed a schedule. He would wake up, meditate, go to Mass, go home to exercise. He had a daily schedule, a weekly plan, a monthly plan, a yearly plan. He was like a monk in how he followed his schedule. Even when he was incarcerated due to martial law, he still followed a schedule.
I have found this to be a very good system. I don’t believe in rigidity. Things should always be flexible to accommodate situations. However, some kind of plan is good.
I wake up in the morning, take a shower, do some asanas, meditate, exercise — this sets me up for the day. I do an hour and a half in my meditation room. If I have an early day, I just set the alarm and wake up earlier. I have found that this commitment to a schedule provides stability and sets my priorities. Nothing can be more important than my morning meditation. Nothing. Doing it regularly underlines my conviction that the most important thing in life is quality of being. It’s the kind of person I am that will determine the effect I have on my family and in my work life.
On weekends, I run, I eat with my kids. On their vacations we go off to a nature place. The first step is to determine what is important in life and then to accordingly schedule it. Or schedule activities that will achieve the life objectives one has set for oneself.
In my workplace it’s the same — every week, every month.
Rhythm. When determining one’s rhythm, it is necessary that the rhythm includes spaces that allow for regeneration of spirit. It can’t be just about work and work alone... Life should have a non-material objective. It’s not a good idea to think about matter when you are going to leave this world. That would set your spirit on a faulty trajectory. You’ve got to have something more lofty as a goal. It’s got to be beyond religion. In other words — deeper than the rules and regulations into the essence of what religion is all about.
It is important that in implementing rhythm in one’s life, it doesn’t fall into the precipice of routine. Meaning, it doesn’t become dry — that in living the rhythm of one’s life it is always purposeful and full of zest. Then it’s not boring but rather is full of joy.
Rhythm is like setting a wheel in motion in a particular direction. It is a good idea to set certain parameters. In my life, when choices have to be made, I go inside to a place that is calm and a bit distanced from the world. I align with forces of Truth — and then I make a choice. In my work life, the commitment is to truth, service and the common good.
Let the wheel of life turn in a certain rhythm, the direction guided by certain principles. My experience is that I now feel happier and healthier than when I was several decades younger ... life is so good! It’s how one lives it that determines quality.
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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.
