Aung San Suu kyi, Nobel laureate, first state counselor of Myanmar: kept by military forces under house arrest for 17y, many people around her being imprisoned, tortured, killed, repressed said; “you know, they never really had me captive, because in my heart, I never let myself hate them.” This is the way she expresses the sheer freedom of spirit that is possible no matter the circumstances we are in. Being our own master of our reactions to convert them into conscious responses rather than auto-pilot reactions. If I bring this back closer to my life and conditions: “how do I not let myself being taken as hostage and feel anger, frustration towards, airlines, governments, medical field in the situation we are being stuck in? How do I not feel depressed knowing I might not be able to see my children for another few months? I can only act from my area of control and shift to a proactive stand rather than feeling being hit by events; how can I attempt doing this? There is no magic bullet: I try to connect more deeply with a few people around me, it is somehow what people around me will seek without necessarily knowing it. I can turn a little more towards my own emotions: welcome, embrace them as some meditation teachers recommend, rather than ignoring or pushing them away, or judging myself for the lows in morale I do experience. I can dig in and find ways to bring a little more meaning to what I do, in every conversation, piece of work I work on. I can of course slow down the usual race we take part of and use some of the time I have to ground myself and breathe. It doesn’t solve everything and certainly doesn’t bring me any guarantee that I will spend time with my children in the next few months, however it allows me to remain healthy in my mind and body; I can continue having meaningful conversation with them as well as people surrounding me and feel a little better.
How do I free myself from being hostage of the situation?
