Listening To The Wind

Small changes to our normal daily routine can make a difference. Make a small meaningful change in your life and win STEEM, SBI, and LOTUS.

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Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

I listen to the wind
To the wind of my soul
Where I'll end up
Well, I think only God really knows
— Cat Stevens
 

A couple of years back, when I was feeling stagnant and stale with my work as a natural medicine therapist, I ran a little experiment on myself.

I say "experiment" ... it was more me following the advice that I was always giving out to my clients at the time who were feeling stagnant in their lives:

I spent a couple of days listening to my ‘wind’.
(No, not like that 💨😂)

The winds of change

The concept of ‘wind’ in ancient China was as a source of disruption. In his seminal book Medicine In China: A History Of Ideas, Paul Unschuld reveals that 'wind' was the first natural phenomenon that was identified as a malevolent force of nature that was thought to cause illness.

In later times, it became associated with the Wood-element, as en expression of a sudden, disruptive force of change. Like wind, change could either be gentle in its movement; or it could be swift and violent.

Usually what happens is we get a sense that something in our lives needs to change. If we pay attention to that sense, then change is gradual and controlled; steady like the gentle wind that blows the seeds around in spring.

Should we ignore these warnings, then things are left unchanged, and build up. Then when change comes, it's more like a turbulent storm.

All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
— Kansas
 

Aware of all that, I chose to explore the gentle variety. It would've been pretty silly to do otherwise. I guess you can forgive folk if they just don't see the signs; but I was very aware of what was happening around me.

How many times can a man turn his head
and pretend that he just doesn't see?
— Bob Dylan
 

Radical discontinuity

I learned an interesting idea when I attended a training intensive with the International School of Temple Arts. Well, it wasn't something new, but the framing around it was novel, and I also learned ways to implement the idea easily in my normal daily routine.

The idea is stupidly simple: what happens when I do something different to usual?

Change doesn't need to be cataclysmic or cathartic. Remember the wind metaphor: the fertility of spring is dependent on constant, gentle blowing not destructive tempests. So even the smallest change can be 'radical' in this sense; and it can lead to some quite radical results.

As darkness falls
The waves roll by
The seasons change
The wind is wry
— Pink Floyd
 

Back then, I tinkered around with some minor changes with my work. I continued to experiment with different things until I found something that worked. I changed my work habits, changed the days I saw clients, and changed the number of clients I saw per week. Eventually, I stepped up the changes until I found what worked, which led me to leaving the profession completely and pursuing something very different.

This was the kind of approach I used to take with clients who participated in dietary therapy courses I ran. One approach that worked really well was cutting out one food which they ate all the time; this created the space for changes in physiology and patterns of behaviour.

We didn't take remove the food from their diet because it was ‘bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ – the purpose was to disrupt the normal routine and throw them out of their comfort zone.

Try this for a couple of days:

  • Pick something seemingly small and innocuous that you do all the time, or at least every day, and change it.
  • Have a black coffee instead of a latte, or with sugar if you have without.
  • Take a different route to work.
  • Catch public transport instead of driving; or vice versa
  • Sleep on the other side of the bed.
  • Stop eating something you normally eat every day, or eat something every day you don't normally eat
  • Read stuff that you would never normally read.

Get the idea?

My 'Ride Like the Wind' challenge

  1. In the comments, share something you are going to commit to changing. It doesn't need to be massive, just something very simple. It does need to be changing something to your normal daily routine. I'm setting a STEEM bounty on the comments, and will reward the bounty based on these comments
  2. Create a post and let us know how you go. Tell us the story of how you went with the challenge. I'll give away SBI and LOTUS to those who show a genuine display of 'riding like the wind'. Drop your link to that post in the comments so I can find it.
  3. Do this before Tuesday October 15.

I'm looking forward to seeing your small acts of radical discontinuity.
😊🙏🏽☯️

Keep your cool
Do not give into emotion
— Radiohead
 

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Listen to the soundtrack for this story for inspiration







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53 comments
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@metametheus has set 3.000 STEEM bounty on this post!
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Bounties let you earn rewards without the need for Steem Power. Go here to learn how bounties work.

Earn the bounty by commenting what you think the bounty creator wants to know from you.

Find more bounties here and become a bounty hunter.

Happy Rewards Hunting!

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Congratulations to the following winner(s) of the bounty!

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(Edited)

I like this idea so much I have been doing it for most of my adult life, just as a matter of course. For a while I'll try one fruit, or cheese, etc.,I've never had before every time I go shopping. I like to shake me up, so I'll change my schedule. Hell, I've changed careers numerous times just because I became interested in the industry, not intending to actually make a career of it, but just to grasp well the details and mechanisms of the field.

Occasionally, such radical segues cause me profound regret, but not as often as I expected. Usually I give them up and return to those things I have learned I best enjoy. However, I always learn new things, and most importantly, much of what I learn is about me, whom I must meet my responsibility to manage well.

I sincerely hope you exceed your best expectations of you.

Thanks!

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So what are you going to do differently over the next week? 😉🙏🏽☯️

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(Edited)

I want folks that seek the encomiums you offer to receive them. It is not hubris that keeps me out of the contest you here run, but simply that I seek to ensure them that encouragement I have no need of.

I will remain utterly set in my ways of continually changing my life =p

Great success to you in this endeavor.

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Totally hear you on that!! Thanks.

And kudos to you.... especially for weaving the word "encomiums" into the conversation. That word just does not get used enough in general conversation. Love it!!

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LOL

Maybe I should have said 'emoluments'. I try to say what I mean, and the words for what I mean are too imprecise. Fortunately for me, Alzheimer's is going to remove a lot of them from my awareness, until when I mean toast I will have to say singed bread.

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This challenge is very timely for me. I have been in a slump in many regards, and just yesterday, dusted off some motivational pdf's and podcasts I have saved. I can listen to both, since i have a "read aloud" function for the pdf's. I decided instead of spending my "downtime" listening to food and work related recordings, I would switch to the motivation instead.

I have the habit of listening to something to drift off to sleep with, and felt like this might help me more than the work related files. Food is my work fyi.

So last night I did listen to a podcast that helped me in the past, and then have already done better today. Thanks to now seeing your challenge, I feel even more motivated, and will do a post about the results in a few days.

Thank you so much, @metametheus. Your "wind" has already helped someone :)

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Great!! You've already started. I can't wait to read your post about how that went for you.... be sure to drop the link here for me so I can read it!!! 😉🙏🏽☯️

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Soul brother!

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Cheers!!
What are you going to attempt to change over the next week? Make the commitment here, and then share the link when you've written your post. 😉🙏🏽☯️

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I don't listen to music much. I spend a lot of time making it, and go out to hear live music often. But music in my home? Almost never.
My deceased husband left boxes and boxes of LPs for me which until today have been just taking up space in a closet, a LOT of space.
For this challenge, I am going to go get a record player and listen to those things.
Gosh, I am already excited by this idea!
Cool challenge. Thanks.

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(Edited)

ZOMFGs.... so jealous... would love to see that LP collection.
Great to see you've made a commitment to something. I cannot wait to see the post you make (remember to drop the link here).... I wanna see those album covers!!!!!!
😉🙏🏽☯️

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I better start taking shots then, because I have hundreds. Thanks for your enthusiasm!

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Wonderful challenge! Just what I need to up my game on being more conscious of the waste that I am producing, what it is I'm throwing in the garbage. I want to cut down on our wastes but sometimes old habits die hard!
For this contest I will be conscious of everything I throw into the garbage with thoughts of if it is necessary to have that waste or can something be done to remove it from being put in the trash.
Thanks for sharing this bit of natural medicine to help bring about change!

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(Edited)

My pleasure!!

Upcycling. Amazing!!! This is a really important change, and I love that you're choosing to do something that "ups your game"... Remember to drop the link for the post you make here so I can read it!
😉🙏🏽☯️

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@metametheus, Will try to come up with something. Stay blessed.

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Hey, don't try.... just DO IT!!!
It doesn't need to be something grand and earth-shattering... something simple. Often, the simplest and seemingly most insignificant tend to make the biggest difference in our lives in the long-term.

Looking forward to seeing what you commit to, and remember to drop a link here to your post!

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Don't try... just DO IT!!
It doesn't need to be earth-shattering, just one small little change in your life. You may find you're surprised at the difference that small difference makes in the long term!

Make the commitment, and remember to drop a link here so we can read your post on how it went!
😉🙏🏽☯️

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One small change id like to make is setting up a small block of time to knock things off of my check list.

I get quite a bit done through out my days but a lot of it is just done when I find pieces of time.

I could cut a lot of the time I spend procrastinating out by just setting a small block of time to get through my to do list.

But yeah just being more efficient with my planning and time management would be huge.

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Dude, YES!
I had that same problem a few years back... TO-DO lists were my saviour....

The problem I had was that I would look at that list and feel completely overwhelmed, and just never do it. Setting aside a specific amount of time allowed me to focus on it. (for me it was the first hour of the morning when I opened the clinic, before patients started showing up).

Also, I keep a DONE list right next to it.... and never throw it away or delete it.... because eventually the DONE list is longer than the TO-DO list, and it takes away the sense of overwhelm at the perpetual TO-DO list (which is why I used to get overwhelm and not do it).

Really looking forward to seeing how you go with it after a week. Remember to drop a link here with what you did.
😊🙏🏽☯️

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so I'm thinking how to join on it, I'm still confused what to write.
thanks for sharing at #pypt

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Keep it simple @mrnightmare... consider something small you’d like to change rather than what you’d like to write about. Make the emphasis on what you’re going to do different rather than what you’re going to post about.

Looking forward to seeing what you’re going to commit to — remember to drop the link here so I see it!!!

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Great track.... you’ll notice it’s in the soundtrack already 😉🙏🏽☯️

So what are you going to commit to Mr Witty?

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Less RockStars? Bout all I can maybe handle :P

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Maybe think of something you do every day anyway, and just do it differently. Like taking a different route to work, for example.
😉🙏🏽☯️

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I can't roll out of the other side of my bed, it's against the wall, but I can sleep on the other end?

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SLEEP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED!! I struggle to sleep at the best of times, without giving myself more anxiety!
I'm guessing that's the comfort zone shift you're on about. I'd probably start smaller, however. I've been trying to get myself having kefir daily, so maybe that's something a bit easier to start with.

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🤣
The kefir one is perfect! It’s not a huge change, and it may have noticeable results to health.

Some kind of role-swapping with a partner is a good one too.... like we have a system at home where my partner vacuums and I mop.... so swapping that around would be an interesting little change!!

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Role swapping, eh? 🤔 I could play Minecraft and watch YouTube all day while hubby cleans, cooks etc... 🤣

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I’m kinda doing this regularly:

  • using a sleeping bag instead of a duvet on bed
  • sleeping in another room (other bed, obviously)
  • recently changed to drinking Erva Mate all day long instead of fizzy drinks and no water

It brings a difference in your life instead of being the same old boring routine and revives your mind.

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Great post esp those parts of lyric in between I know. Black coffee I changed into rtea and tea into water.
Other side of the bed would cause me injuries if I need to get out in the dark. 🤔
I will change being on Steem first. That is better for my wallet and will limit the time I spend here trying.

I wish you a great day. 💕

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This is such a great idea. I actually read it a couple of days ago, and have been thinking about all the times I have done this, and what the best result was. I am going to commit to doing something that I used to do and fell out of. (There is a list of those things in my mind...). To take some time in the morning and do some self-love writing, and some time before bed to do some gratitude writing.

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I do things differently always. If I sleep here today, I will sleep on the other side tomorrow. Even when I use my right foot first today's I try to use .y left foot first the next time. I'm not really repetitive

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@metametheus - this is a wonderful post and challenge. I became aware of it through @porters post about how she is being more mindful of what goes into her garbage. Another post I read today from @hlezama about the appalling daily struggle of people in other parts of the world really made me realize how many things I take for granted. So a small change I'm going to do is make a conscious effort to do something nice for a complete stranger every day.

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That’s awesome @blueeyes8960.... nice to see you jumping on board.
When you write a post telling how you’ve gone for about a week, I invite you to drop a link here and let me know about it.
😊🙏🏽☯️

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