Have you ever wondered… about dishabituation? I have. We often accumulate a variety of habits with little to no thought, or we worked on them so long ago that we forgot about a time before they seemed to be an essential and integral part of our lives. What if we want to rework or unwork something that no longer works well? Well, that is where dishabituation comes into play. By retraining our mind and body to once again engage with our surroundings in a way that makes everything feel fresh and new, we can break free from the monotonous humdrum. We can renew and reinvigorate what all we repeatedly review. Which sounds better – blindly trudging along or seeing all colors?
Education is the key that unlocks the golden door to freedom.
-George Washington Carver
Think about it – how free are you when you act out of habitual impulses? Are you free without being mindful? I doubt it. We often give up our own freedom when we go on auto-pilot, simply going through the rote routine. Why are you willingly wasting precious moments with more of the mindless same and mundane? What if you focus on finite details and fine-tune your perceptions to appreciate unique aspects of each and every object? What differences can you begin to see within a cup of coffee or tea? How can you find beauty in a well-made bed? Why does the laundry have to feel like a chore?
Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Shift your mindset to find the beauty in all that you do. Set your mind free by controlling your own honed focus and perceptive attention. As Heraclitus pointed out centuries ago, no person ever enters the same river twice because neither the person nor the river are the same. Is your commute to work ever the exact same? Why do we treat it as such then? Is each Monday the same? We can dishabituate. We can delve deeper into a pristinely peaceful and personal freedom. Are you ready to free dive towards it?
[People] are not free when they are doing just what they like. [People] are only free when they are doing what the deepest self likes. And there is getting down to the deepest self! It takes some diving.
-D.H. Lawrence
We can easily rush through all of our greatest moments if we do not slow down and fully appreciate them as they unfold. Conversely, we can make challenges and struggles last a lifetime if we do not accept the current state of things. How habituated are you to your current thoughts and actions? How can you begin to reclaim a dishabituated freedom?
Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used.
-Hunter S. Thompson
I strongly sugjest finding and using your freedom. Do not let it die.
Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :) <3