Day 196 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - From the Beginning...

Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

Lesson 196: From the Beginning...

We are taught with certain values from our family, friends, teachers and co-workers as we move through life. There is very much a group/cult thought based on our cultural values, societal values, family values and our immediate environments. We tend to navigate towards group thoughts based on our location also. Today we are to think about a time we existed outside group thought. It can be the smallest of changes that sparked a new thought for you but had profound effect.

When I travelled to Thailand last year to do volunteer work in a remote Elephant village, it changed my life. I grew up in Western society. I was very much saturated with having this notion that by having all the latest trend outfits, gadgets, make-up etc, that this showed my success. If you weren’t on trend then you don’t matter. All those advertisements or social media topics that infiltrate our minds are consistently overcoming our minds. I always had to have anything and everything – even if I didn’t use the items.

I was going through a depression and a real life changing spiritual awakening. I needed to do something for me and that’s when I decided to go travel by myself, which I had never done before, and just immerse and learn. I had never really volunteered either or travelled overseas to volunteer. It was the most eye-opening experience. I learned what real community is – that people were out there sharing and helping each other out in this village. People were grateful for all the small things they had – they didn’t have much and lived simple lives. I learned that in comparison to Western society, people were more peaceful in their setting. There were days when we had no water until 3pm and I was told that sometimes the water could go out all day, though the people would just adjust. I didn’t know if I was going to shower that day but I accepted it. I took time out to just feel nature and the energy of the elephants. The elephant is worshipped in Thailand and it was such a humbling experience. I took for granted all the things I had in my life when I compared it to these villagers.

What really changed my perspective on life was that I didn’t want to live in the way of Western society. I want a minimal life with spiritual enrichment. I don’t need everything that is force fed to us and I in no way want to fit into that type of world. I want the peaceful, caring world that doesn’t have the stress and pressure that Western society places on us. It’s the society we built that leads to depression, anxiety and stress. In this village, I didn’t feel any of that. It was so freeing and made me want to be a better person. This is how I broke away from a group thought. I didn’t need all these things marketers told me I needed to feel good about myself. It’s why I live differently now and I’m loving the life I create, on my terms.

What was something you did that broke away from a collective thought or belief?