Many times in my life I felt limited. There was only so far I could go or so much I could do. I felt boxed in, defeated, unworthy…in a word, stuck. It seemed the limitations were all the things outside of me I couldn’t control. They were what prevented me from achieving a goal or getting to where I wanted to be or having the life I wanted to have. Today I have a wider view.
Here is a quote from my Daily Zen Calendar by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: The feeling of limitation is the work of the mind.
Wow! This simple statement is very profound. I don’t know if I’ve ever really thought about the idea of limitation as a feeling. It is a shift to notice that limitation is not always physical, although it can be…but that it is also a feeling. I can be limited by obstacles in the physcal world, even in my physical body…and separately, I can feel limited. I can look at the obstacle and feel limitation.
I also have the choice to look at the obstacle and feel something else. Because the feeling of limitation is the work of my mind. And my mind is under my control. There may indeed be a physical obstacle, but I have the power to feel any feeling I choose. Isn’t that an empowering thought? With a physical obstacle staring you in the face you can choose whatever feeling you want to feel.
There really is no wrong way to feel. This quote reminded me I have a choice. I can work with my mind…steer it where I want to go. There may be a real limitation…but how I feel is up to me.
Working it.
Paula
