No. 23 On energy

Keeping up with life requires energy. We gaze wistfully at the child bouncing up and down with exuberance, wishing we had their energy (and forgetting that they sleep 12 hours a night!). Since grown-up life demands less snoozing and more doing, many of us reach for a little caffeine to boost us into the day. First Light to the rescue!

Serenity

The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form to another. When we feel as if our energy has all been spent, we have actually only transferred it out into the world. In a beautiful cycle, it will eventually come back to us; we need only find a suitable source of replenishment. From nourishment to nature to a noble cup of tea, the key to perpetual serenity is to find the balance in your own life's equation of incoming and outgoing energy. To modify the classic equation, consider:

Perseverance

No matter how much you love what you do for a living or for fun, there are days when we’d all rather pretend that the world is on pause so we can hide under the covers a little while longer, savoring the coziness and bliss of those moments between sleep and full consciousness. However, we must eventually extricate ourselves and simply get on with it. We rise and put our feet into motion, hoping that it will be perpetual. Spoiler alert: perpetual motion is not possible, the equation of our energy must always be balanced (see the conservation of energy, above). Perseverance is a matter of converting our potential energy into kinetic energy with the least amount of loss. In other words, it’s about maximizing the positive results from that cup of tea - or cups, as the case may be...

Well-being

Technically, we are all made of energy. At the smallest level, every atom in our body is vibrating, and energy inputs are necessary to sustain our body and mind and nourish our spirit. Generally, we have a choice about which energy inputs we accept. We’ve all experienced the effects of poor dietary choices—too many chips!—as well as beneficial ones, like nourishing tea. Similarly, what we choose to allow mentally impacts our energetic well-being. As Deepak Chopra points out in his 2012 TEDx talk, we are relational beings, and the balance of energy extends beyond ourselves: "... the energy that you channel within you, as your mind and your body, is the energy of the total universe." Our well-being is connected to ourselves, the inputs and outputs in our immediate surroundings, and the greater world within and beyond our awareness. By being conscious of these ideas, we can make decisions that have a beautifully positive impact on our own and others’ well-being. What better way to make positive and nourishing connections than with a lovely cup of tea?

One more thing...

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
- Benjamin Franklin

Until next time,
Steep Calm,
Bree