uying new shoes can be immensely exciting, potentially rewarding and quite financially painful, all in one. But there’s also another discomfort or pain that commonly occurs once you start to wear them. Although they can be the best looking, made of modern materials, maybe European design, perfect heel and hard wearing sole it’s only when they are worn for some time that other issues can arise.
These issues are familiar to us all and can include rubbing by the shoe on different parts of the foot, the skin not being use to a pressure point, could be the back of the heel, any of the toes, the arch of the the foot or similiar. It may be especially so for women that they’re difficult to walk quickly in, or to balance on uneven surfaces in and/or cause you to tire quickly. The usual driver for this is that ‘the material can be quite rigid at the beginning with little flexibility’, or the design of the shoe is ‘not quite right’.
What started off as the best looking shoes can quickly end up as the most ‘painful’ to wear so you stop wearing them. They can sit in the wardrobe with other shoes, still looking good but not worn. You may glance every now and then at them reminding yourself at how good they look, just like when you bought them. You may even try them on and wear them though inevitably the pain slowly returns so you stop. It may be for an hour, a day, perhaps two days then no more. You rationally decide to end the pain.
At MMP this shoe metaphor is very similiar to the exercises we promote for mind training. The whole concept of being in charge of your mind, having a mind that serves you well, that you can rely on is extremely attractive and appealing. So we naturally expect to have minds that do what they’re told, obey instructions and serve us well creating the right direction for us all to pursue in life. Yet this is so often not the case.
What starts off as most appealing for ’you’ and your mind always presents other issues. Just stopping and slowing down for the first time and you’ll see just how busy the mind can be. In Buddhist philosphy this is close to the ‘dhamma’ or ‘universal force of nature’ or ‘the way things really are’ therefore it’s important to recognise this as quite natural. Just like our shoe metaphor when you first stop you’ll notice the mind’s operations. That can be quite unsettling, disturbing and painful.
The question remains whether to stop wearing them or break them in differently, to persevere. It does take time, patience and practise. Take a look at your shoes next time you remember, were there any that were a little or very painful when you first wore them? What can start off as a most ‘painful’ pair of shoes to wear can over time end up being the most ‘comfortable’. The rigidity slowly becomes more ‘flexible’ but only if you wear them, only if you persist.
At MMP the exercises will over time become very comfortable to complete and beneficial for both body and mind. Experiment with your new shoes! They may end up being the most comfortable. Benefits are cumulative, keep practising even if difficult, reduce the time worn but keep wearing the shoes a little each day! Keep practising!
These issues are familiar to us all and can include rubbing by the shoe on different parts of the foot, the skin not being use to a pressure point, could be the back of the heel, any of the toes, the arch of the the foot or similiar. It may be especially so for women that they’re difficult to walk quickly in, or to balance on uneven surfaces in and/or cause you to tire quickly. The usual driver for this is that ‘the material can be quite rigid at the beginning with little flexibility’, or the design of the shoe is ‘not quite right’.
What started off as the best looking shoes can quickly end up as the most ‘painful’ to wear so you stop wearing them. They can sit in the wardrobe with other shoes, still looking good but not worn. You may glance every now and then at them reminding yourself at how good they look, just like when you bought them. You may even try them on and wear them though inevitably the pain slowly returns so you stop. It may be for an hour, a day, perhaps two days then no more. You rationally decide to end the pain.
At MMP this shoe metaphor is very similiar to the exercises we promote for mind training. The whole concept of being in charge of your mind, having a mind that serves you well, that you can rely on is extremely attractive and appealing. So we naturally expect to have minds that do what they’re told, obey instructions and serve us well creating the right direction for us all to pursue in life. Yet this is so often not the case.
What starts off as most appealing for ’you’ and your mind always presents other issues. Just stopping and slowing down for the first time and you’ll see just how busy the mind can be. In Buddhist philosphy this is close to the ‘dhamma’ or ‘universal force of nature’ or ‘the way things really are’ therefore it’s important to recognise this as quite natural. Just like our shoe metaphor when you first stop you’ll notice the mind’s operations. That can be quite unsettling, disturbing and painful.
The question remains whether to stop wearing them or break them in differently, to persevere. It does take time, patience and practise. Take a look at your shoes next time you remember, were there any that were a little or very painful when you first wore them? What can start off as a most ‘painful’ pair of shoes to wear can over time end up being the most ‘comfortable’. The rigidity slowly becomes more ‘flexible’ but only if you wear them, only if you persist.
At MMP the exercises will over time become very comfortable to complete and beneficial for both body and mind. Experiment with your new shoes! They may end up being the most comfortable. Benefits are cumulative, keep practising even if difficult, reduce the time worn but keep wearing the shoes a little each day! Keep practising!