Subtraction

Subtraction. It’s interesting how something that caused such dismay in my childhood, is bringing me such delight now. Who knew maths is a gift that keeps giving.

These days, subtraction stands for making space in my life, for fine tuning, for creating freedom. I can actually feel my body jump for joy, as I write it.

I was chatting with another coach friend earlier about how I’m always so busy yet if I try to pin it down to what exactly I am accomplishing with this ‘Busyness’, I am at a loss. I know this is not exclusive to me, rather just a state of affairs that most of us are experiencing. What’s more concerning is that when asked what I’m up to, my answer almost always begins with ‘oh not much’ or ‘oh nothing’. Nothing? Really? A sudden burst of frustration as I tried to make sense of this in the aforesaid conversation made me stop. It also allowed my friend to very casually say, ‘well may be you’re saying oh nothing because it’s not something you consider to be of much value’.

And there it was, clear as day.

I love the high of a swift stroke of clarity cutting through the smog of confusion but it’s a real downer to look at the debris that marks the end of something. In this case, the end of deluding myself into believing that my daily routine, which I show up and commit to each day is still serving me. And furthermore, that it may never have. What I’m left to look at, rather squarely in the face, is that the life I’ve created, is not geared up to meet my expectations of it.

I think I have now sat in enough empty spaces, metaphorically speaking and otherwise to know that after the initial cleaning up of the rubble and coming to terms with a general state of uncertainty, what follows is the opportunity to build with some powerful tools; consciously and with intention.

It is one thing to long for fulfilment as some sort of distant good fortune that may befall us, it’s another to realise that these are the steps that each one of us can take, at any given time, to manifest it right here, right now.

 

Best
Afshan x