I was watching a video last night, and the person in it commented that studies have been done that show that creative and intelligent people tend to be night owls. And at first, I was like "Aha! See, there is a reason why I'm up late at night!" But then I was thinking about it, and I know I've seen the exact opposite stated as well: that creative and intelligent people are early risers and go to bed early.
This reminded me of the many health trends that seem to flip-flop every year. One year, they will tell you that you should eat avacado's every day, and the next year they will be warning about the dangers of eating too many avocados. It really doesn't matter what topic you come up with, you can probably find studies that will prove your point, if you look hard enough.
The fallacy in trusting information like this is that it assumes that all people work exactly the same. Sure, on some level there are things that we can all trust to be true. People need oxygen to survive, nutrients must be taken in, sleep must be acquired, waste must be produced. But even within those parameters, each individual may need more or less of each of those things. And once you get beyond that bare necessities, the amount of variation only increases.
What 'works' for one person might not for another, and trying to look to external research to find what the 'best' way is, just sets you up for failure. Now, I am fully behind research, behind looking things up and seeing what the trends are. There is a lot to be said for making use of other people's efforts, for taking advantage of someone else's work...as a starting point. But ultimately, you need to figure your own truths out, so you can see what actually works for you, instead of beating yourself up because you can't do the things that you are 'supposed to.'
I don't think that there is a true 'best' way...for anything. Not only that, I would say there isn't even an ultimate best way for each person. Instead, there is a 'best for me right now', and because we are creatures of change, we need to be constantly observing and reacting...and changing. What worked for us a year ago, might not work as well now. Or, we may just find something that we like better...and that's okay!
Change doesn't make you wrong. It doesn't invalidate anything you have done in the past. If I really like blue cheese, but I start putting it on everything...I'll probably get tired of it. Even if I don't go to that extreme, I may just find that I am not as fond of it anymore. That doesn't mean that I didn't love it in the past, just that I may not love it now.
The beauty of this is that we are always able to find new 'best' ways! Even when we absolutely enjoy a practice, we may discover a new tweak that adds another layer, or even a brand new way of looking at things, that completely changes how we understand our practice, and we go in a whole new direction!
Part of our experience of life is not just doing things, but noticing how we react to them. We reflect on what is going on in our life, and this gives us the ability to deliberately change what isn't working. The more aware we are of our own lives, our feelings, our thoughts and our practices, the better able we are to evaluate our satisfaction in different areas. We can seek out the places where we feel less complete, and work on making it better.
The first step is becoming more aware of what is going on in our lives. There is a tendency to avoid the things that make us uncomfortable, the rough patches and the bits that don't quite fit. We want to be happy, and we don't want to acknowledge that there are things that aren't meeting those standards. But the value of being brutally honest with ourselves is that we shed light on the true situation, which lets us see exactly what needs work.
I like the phrase work, because often it is hard, it breaks you down, and you aren't sure you can manage it. You may want to give up, you may want to accept something that isn't great, because it is 'enough'..and you don't want to risk loosing what you have in order to have something better. But we all deserve greatness! We all have brilliance inside of us, and with enough polish we can shine!
Just because it's work though, doesn't mean it all has to be horrible. It can be really fun to break up old patterns. If you have always done something a certain way, trying something new can be exciting. Sometimes, it becomes your new favorite thing. Sometimes, you are indifferent, but grateful for having tried something that perhaps a friend had suggested. And sometimes, it's absolutely horrible...but you can have a laugh at how amazingly bad it turned out...and then keep looking for a better way!
We tend to be herd creatures, we want to be 'one of the crowd', and sometimes standing out and doing things differently is terrifying. You might not be ready to share your Truth with the world, but you can still start uncovering it on your own. Your Truth might be completely private...and never meant to be shared with others. But you may also find, that the more you live your Truth, the more you feel comfortable in letting a little bit of that Truth shine out for others to see.
We all have our own Truth, our own path, and you are the only one who can say that that Truth and path is. The journey is discovering it, and that journey never ends. Truth is ephemeral, it is fleeting, and your Truth may change from minute to minute, but if you are living it authentically, then it is True to you. The more clearly you can see your Truth, the easier it is to live it, and the more fulfilling your life will be.
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