One of these days, I watched the movie “Toscana” on Netflix. Light, interesting, a little sugar water, but good! With beautiful photography, cooking scenes that whet our appetite and the desire to travel to Italy, and, of course, news on how we relate to ourselves and others.
That's why I write this text, to invite you to reflect on a phrase that appears at the beginning and end of the film – “Extraordinary like many.”
Before continuing reading, I ask you to read this sentence aloud at least twice, so that you can hear it and let it reverberate a little, because despite being short, it is strange, and the intention of this text is that we can reflect on it. . So it takes a brief pause, a watchful eye and the perception of what it provokes in you.
Extraordinary as many puts us as an extraordinary being and, at the same time, on an equal footing with another being also extraordinary, how is this possible?
We can start by reflecting on the difficulty we have in recognizing ourselves as extraordinary. Where does she come from? Will it be from childhood?
Many of us grow up hearing that we are not good enough, that the little friend, brother… is more polite, smarter and does better and more beautiful things… Comparison becomes the basis of our low self-esteem.
On the other hand, these same comparisons are intended to provoke in us the desire to be better than others, as if that was the way to be loved by our parents – we need to be good! And competition becomes the basis of our relationships.
We live between comparison, competition and the solitude imposed by them.
We live building narratives and fantasies of who we should be and how much better the other always is.
We live focused on the external, on what is outside, and so we lose ourselves, missing what naturally nourishes us, gives us strength and nourishes our shine.
How many of us know what gives us pleasure? How many of us are satisfied with the work, the relationship and the life we lead with no time, no break, no satisfaction that lasts longer than a month?
How can we feel extraordinary if we are exhausted, with pain in body and soul, and if what we have is a canvas in front of us and nothing else?
How can we perceive ourselves as extraordinary if we always focus on the lack, on the MBA we didn't do, on the position we don't have, on the networking we don't have? Today we are closed in the circuit comparison + competition = loneliness, and we don't even realize that we have become those mice who live chasing cheese and that this circuit has blinded us.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that “our nature is incessant and luminous”. I have this sentence written in front of my desk, I read it several times during the day and I think it can help us in this reflection, because from the moment we find our incessant nature and here we can translate it as infinite, in constant transformation, free and not attached to anything, maybe we can see our wisdom, our ability to learn, our transience and, with that, value cycles, presence, singularities and time in all their relativity.
When we see our luminous nature, we will have access to the infinite possibilities that present themselves before us. daily, because we will be part of this life that pulsates and flows uninterruptedly.
But we are here, spending energy, fighting for things to happen exactly as we want, for life to go the way we planned, and we don't stop to admit that we know little, that we control nothing and, thus, we stop being curious and become skeptics, proud, holders of the truth, and we miss the chance to admire the natural intelligence of things.
The Dalai Lama's phrase invites us to take a new look, a contemplative look at ourselves and, consequently, at everything around us, even for other beings. Through this contemplation, it may be possible to leave this circuit, even if for a few moments, and access the grandeur of the sentence of our text — “Extraordinary like many”.
When we glimpse the extraordinary in we, we will recognize it in the other, because at this moment we will know that we are extensions, interconnections and that it is not possible to be, exist and follow alone. We will be ONE in the ALL, and the extraordinary reverberates naturally.
Now the reverse path is also possible!
Sometimes we are so distant from ourselves, so unable to look within and access this “incessant and luminous nature” that the other becomes a bridge for us to meet again, and that is very beautiful to see.
You can try it as soon as you're done reading this, and before you get sucked into the messy, busy world you've created!
Just take a few breaths, surrendering your body to the chair, feeling the air go in and out at the same time, you relax, disarm and search your memory for some or some inspiring people. People you admire for the way they relate to each other, for their wide and uncompromising smile, for their hopeful look and for their strange lightness.
Who do you know that awakens these sensations in you? Think about her, and see if her smile doesn't open? If your gaze doesn't loosen... In this instant, you connect with her extraordinary, and when you make that connection, your extraordinary appears, because in the immensity of this universe you walk side by side.
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Recognizing “Extraordinary like many” is extremely liberating, because we leave the burden of having to shine more or better, and start to shine together, each one with their own way, their doing and knowing. Fear makes room for surrender, attachment makes room for sharing and disenchantment becomes a secure mystery.
Hugs!
