Meeting Your Limits, Episode 2

Last week, I told you about the exhaustion after an exciting conference and how I thought on Monday that I had turned a corner—fat chance. 

After a miserable night on Tuesday, I tested positive. Covid had finally caught up with me. But this newsletter is not about that. Now, it is over. The corner has been turned. 

This newsletter is about awareness.

Sometimes, you (or at least I) need a stark reminder about how precious life is. It's too easy to take it for granted and live as if it will never end – or to consider even more miserable alternatives.

When I was in bed most of the week having sky-scraping fever, and my mind was thick from the smell of hydrogen sulphide clouds (a fancy way to say stinky farts brewed by this virus that was torturing every cell of my body)– where was I – yes: I realised that living a good life is about awareness.

Being aware that you are a whole thing where everything is interconnected in the most delicate way imaginable is the key to crawling back to the living world from the abyss of despair, sickness, and pain. Being aware made me feel that I could deal with the shit, being aware that I needed to give it some time to pass and being aware that I am not the virus nor a victim but an entity that is going through a transformation.

And now that the symptoms are gone – and I can see, smell, hear, touch and taste life without any painful efforts – the outcome is this awe I feel with every breath I take. Everything is brighter, smells better, tastes yummy and looks so beautiful.

Being aware brought me back to the flow. It is not a state of mind but a state of being. Covid took my mind's limitations and gave me a direct way to experience life again. I am – more whole and not just mind or emotions. 

Information from my sensory organs flows in, and my heart and mind flow out with energy, joy and compassion. 

I am one and only, but all in one.

When shit hits the fan, you need to clean the blades of your life, let the manure go down, and suddenly, you are again in the sowing business planting seeds for revivals. Shit always turns to soil, and you better have some seeds ready. 

What are my seeds now?

I listened to the Huberman Lab podcast about finding your purpose. In the episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews best-selling author Robert Greene about finding and achieving your unique purpose. 

The podcast is over three hours long. So, make sure you can lie down and listen or have a very long bushwalk to listen to it. In the podcast, one sentence stuck into my brain: "You can get out of the rut by paying deeper attention to the things around you and inside you". That's awareness. 

It is not about having opinions or learning but observing and then picking up the seeds you can start to sow because they come from being aware, not having wishful thinking. 

This newly found awareness made my recovery ten times more joyful than just getting rid of annoying symptoms. I feel the virus was there for a purpose: it helped me find my purpose again.

I became aware of the purpose: it is not a destination or a journey – it is being fully alive and then using that life to live a better, more fulfilling life together with others. 

Only if I am fully aware – alive with all my cells – can I reach out and be the bridge strong enough to carry you, me and the others towards a better future for all. 

We are all in one, and you are one and only. 

The uniqueness of each moment of life can be shared only between people who experience them together.

What is your awareness experience? Did you need COVID-19 or some other proverbial wall to hit your head to get through to the broader world of life?

Ngā mihi

Jussi

This week, no books or extras because last week I spent the whole week recovering. So, hopefully, next week, I have some new articles to share and books to review.