Expansion and Contraction

I’ve been taking some quiet time this morning.

I read Kris Carr’s “Do You Need Some Quiet?” article from her Crazy Sexy Newsletter (kriscarr.com) in which she said: “The pivot you need to make for your own beautiful expansion will become clear in the stillness.”

I’ve always felt that expanding my territory would be good for me – new friends and acquaintances, opportunity for more experiences and financial wealth – and my sunshine and inspiration could shine out farther.

Today, in the quietness of the morning, I am questioning this concept of expansion that Kris Carr and I have embraced.

Breathing in is expansion, taking in more air, and contraction is giving out what I was so anxious to get in. It’s in the contraction that I pull back and eliminate what isn’t useful any more.

Contraction is like weeding my garden, not making new gardens. It’s where I can appreciate what I have, notice it, and be content.

Do I have to be bigger and better, or am I happier being balanced? I like breathing in and breathing out, which is more or less maintaining homeostasis.

I do have a choice as to what I breathe in. I could breathe in smoke or exhaust, but what’s wrong with these two things is they are the exhale of industries. Breathing in manmade ideas and ways of doing things is like breathing in stale air.

If I breathe in the exhale of plants, that’s the right kind of expansion. Plants give off renewed air, filled with oxygen. Most plants would be safe to eat as well as breathe in what they exhale.

If I breathe in the artist’s exhale of beautiful music, it nurtures my soul. If I breathe in the wrong music for me, it robs joy from my soul. It has much to do with the soul of whoever is offering the music.

So in all my expansion, being careful of whose soul I am breathing in is a choice I want to make. And I don’t want to breathe in so much and grow so much in what I might think is a good way that I explode because I didn’t exhale.

Breathing in ideas and music is inspirational only if the source has been inspired. Breathing out (contracting) is the only way to enjoy it all.

It’s like having too much good food on my plate. I don’t want to eat it all. I could save some of it. It is by eating it bite by bite that I can enjoy it.

There’s always a problem that whatever I save for later is going to lose its interest. And that’s OK, since fresh new ideas are always more desirable than stale food for thought.

So I guess the idea behind my writing today is to sit down and absorb the various new ideas that I’m allowing in to my life, but not allowing myself to select so many that my plate becomes too full to eat. I can’t eat it all. I don’t want to eat it all. I don’t want to expand (get fat). I want to remember the balance.

I am happy exhaling what I don’t need and excreting what I don’t need. I want to let it go so I can take another good breath in and eat fresh food.

Therefore, it’s not so much expansion that I seek – it’s balance. It was fun to think about it and write it down.