Essential question

How do you answer this essential question?

As we continue our journey of weaving the thread of the Yoga Sutra into our lives every day, we remind ourselves to keep returning to presence again and again, despite the many distractions that we meet. As we recognize that we are improvising and conducting an experiment with our lives, we continue cultivating and attitude of curiosity to spark our awareness. Along the way we probably are becoming aware of some of the distinctions between who we are and who we think we are. Everything is helping us awaken to the importance of the irreplaceable moment that we are in, the present, right here and now.

As we ground ourselves in being present, there is an essential question that we are answering throughout every single day of our lives. Quite possibly we are answering the question unconsciously, so we may not even be aware that the question is there at all times and places and that we are answering it. What is this essential question?
Is the world a hostile and dangerous place or a friendly place of cooperation and interconnectedness?

Are you aware of how you are answering this question every day? Is your answer to that question influencing how you see the people around you and your environment?
It is reasonable to say that in our early years, provided we live in a caring environment with low stress, our tendency remains aligned to our true nature, making us open, trusting and loving. As we develop, our family, caregivers and surrounding environment influence our attitude through their behavior, actions, and interactions. For instance, while some children may be encouraged to be curious and explore their environment, others may be asked to be attentive and careful, while others me be urged to be very cautious and defensive. When you reflect on your own life experiences, is it clear how you have been answering this essential question? For me, it took a while to recognize how some of the narratives I grew up with where leading in a specific direction that I thought was just normal and natural. However, reflecting on this question and on actual evidence from my own life gave me enough of a pause to notice how my own assumptions were limited and limiting. They were limited because my own biases only allowed me to notice a portion of the options available, not the whole spectrum. Becoming aware of this question can be liberating, because it removes the artificial limits created by our preconceived notions, thus expanding the number of choices that are available to us.

Believing that the world is a hostile place closes your heart, and filters everything you see through fear and anxiety. Then, when you see a stranger, you may be primed to see them as an adversary or as a threat. This precludes you from seeing them for who they are and instead choosing to see them for who you think they are, without having any evidence of who they actually are. This is a typical example of how closing our hearts automatically closes our minds.

Understanding that the world is a place of cooperation and connection creates possibilities for communication and connection. When we contemplate this idea, it may become evident that cooperation is the only way human beings have been able to survive and thrive, because nothing our species has accomplished has ever been the result of one person working in isolation. Instead, all human accomplishments are the accumulation of all kinds of contributions by many different people over time. Even people who create alone are benefiting from food, shelter, and the support of those around them. If you are benefiting from having running water, electricity, and access to communication technologies, the list of contributors who made those comforts possible is long.

As usual, I am not asking you to believe what I am saying. Instead, I kindly invite you to take a moment to reflect on how you see the world. Is it possible that many times during your day you are answering, often automatically the question, is the world a hostile place or a friendly place? Does life require you to be aggressive and competitive, or does it ask you to be helpful and cooperative? Would it be useful to contemplate what direct evidence has informed your current views?
As you explore these ideas during this week, you may want to also ask yourself: is the way you answer this question moving you closer or farther away from your nature? And is the way you answer this question enhancing the quality of your participation in your life?

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This is an excerpt from the book Unravel the thread: Applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to live a happy life

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