July 21, 2022
If there was one insight that the medicine path has consistently offered me, it’s that Life Goes By In The Blink Of An Eye!
Life goes by fast and it’s so important to enjoy it, rather than get caught up in the grind of work and daily life. If you’re not paying attention, all too soon you may be looking back, wondering where the time went and if it was well-spent.
As the saying goes, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.
My life has taken so many detours along the way of where I thought I would end up. A few weeks before I began medical school, I broke my neck. Prior to this injury, my trajectory was to become an ER doctor. That’s to say, I didn’t exactly foresee myself working in the field of psychedelics.
Life twists and turns, and the best we can do at any given moment is to remain open: open to receiving, open to loving, open to service, open to abundance, knowledge, wisdom, etc.
The one constant is change, and attachments don’t usually serve us well–they close us off to receiving. By being open, you allow space for new experiences that may serve you well and lessons that could ease your journey.
Oftentimes, this openness is the key to healing the very aspects of our life we thought could never change, such as our past.
While it is true that events and experiences of our past cannot be altered, we can change how we orient ourselves to them.
As an extension of our previous conversation about emotional resiliency, let’s dive into the power of perspective.
Meaning, purpose, optimism, faith, and the ability to claim our inner creative endowment and tell a new story to live by are all within our power to utilize in order to shift our perspective.
Perspective is one of the greatest gifts and powers that you have, and your story is the most significant place to generate your creative potential through examining your current perspective.
Are you choosing a story based on an old narrative of someone else’s expectations of who they wanted you to be? Is your story based on societal or cultural expectations or hindrances? Is your story rooted in privilege? Are you living into your true calling?
Questions like these are important to ask to obtain a deeper understanding of yourself as well as the current factors at play in your life.
Next, consider which aspects of these factors are within your power to change.
For example, in my latest book, A Dose of Hope, the main character, Alex, realizes his family was doing the best they could with what they knew at the time. He recognized that while he was growing up, he was witnessing his parents growing up, too.
This realization helped Alex to have compassion for his family, whereas before, he harbored resentment.
Oftentimes, our deepest healing can come from a shift in perspective that leads us to seek blessings, find gratitude, or obtain a greater understanding of the circumstances and factors involved.
If you are not careful, you can become a prisoner of your own thought patterns, a victim of your own mind, or become shackled to someone else’s story.
Owning your story is more than an empowering choice; it is also a great act of liberation.
In what ways can you begin to reclaim ownership of your story or shift your perspective today?
To your health,
Dr. Dan
Get healthy. Stay present. Help out.