Each day we are faced with a challenge, and it’s a mighty one: How do we choose to spend the 24 hours we are given? Some of the tasks and responsibilities we take on seem to give us a positive energy that leaves us feeling energized, while also providing a positive benefit to others, while other tasks seem to suck the positive energy right out of us and make it difficult to positively impact those around us.
There are times when we find that burst of energy and we just go and go and go, only to crash at the end of the day and see it carry over into the next day, when we have a hard time finding the motivation to do anything at all, or so it seems. Some of us feel absolutely guilty if we don’t keep going and doing something. Others may find that they are restless and simply can’t sit still. Still others may find it hard to be motivated at all on a regular basis, or have a hard time balancing their energy because the energetic demands of their jobs or other aspects of their lives are so great.
The focus of this article is not to decide which activities constitute the most ideal use of our time or energy, but rather to investigate whether our use of energy is serving us at the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. And here’s the challenge — we want to make sure that our energy expenditure serves us at all of those levels, and in a relatively balanced manner as well.
But first, before we can decide whether we are using our energy in a way that benefits us and those around us, we need to look at the different aspects of energy and types of energy expenditure. First, we have the energy expenditure that is furthest from our ideal physical, emotional, and spiritual states. When we are utilizing this type of energy, we find ourselves to be lazy, sluggish, unmotivated, and in a mental “fog.” In the Hindu tradition, this energy is referred to as “tamas,” meaning “darkness.”
Then, we have the second type of energy, which is on the other end of the “spectrum,” so to speak. When we are utilizing this type of energy, we are constantly active, but active for the sake of being active. We are actually active to the point of being restless, and to stay still and quiet is actually very uncomfortable and unsettling. In the Hindu tradition, this energy is called “rajas,” and it means “passion.”
The first and second types of energy expenditure I have described are both what we call “outwardly focused” energy types. This means that this type of energy is “engrossed in the senses.” These energy types are involved with sensory stimulation and feedback, and without this feedback, we would find ourselves blind, uncomfortable, and uncertain.
Finally, there is a third type of energy expenditure, which sits in the “middle” of the other two energy types. This energy type serves as the “middle way,” which provides the fulcrum, or balance, between the other two. This energy is inwardly focused, meaning that it is not so much concerned with sensory feedback or stimulation; rather, it is more based on connecting with your own values and ideals first, and letting those values and ideals establish how you act and what you do. In the Hindu tradition, this energy is known as “sattwa,” meaning “goodness.”
Naturally, one can find themselves in between these different types of energy. For example, one can be somewhere between “rajas” and “sattwa,” which would then be manifested as “rajo-sattwa” energy. This energy is very active, but in an “upward” way, utilized in serving and helping others, and making a positive impact on the world.
We can also be between “rajas” and “tamas,” where our energy is used to seek revenge of those who have “done us wrong,” or to take advantage of others, or even to have fun at the expense of other people. This type of energy actually withdraws the positive energy from us as well as others, and it is not beneficial, nor does it serve our physical, emotional, or spiritual wellness much at all.
So how can we know whether we are directing our energy in a way that positively benefits our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being? Here are three signs that your energy is being directed positively and beneficially:
1. You have a clear understanding of your values and ideals, and you actively work most days to act in alignment with those values to help other people.
Do you have a passion? Do you have a gift? Do you find ways to share your passion and gifts with other people, so that their lives benefit from your service to them? If you’re finding ways to share your passion and gifts with others, it’s a positive sign that you’re using your energy in a beneficial way.
2. You make sure you serve your own needs first, and then, only after serving your own needs, you seek to serve the needs of others.
This one is tricky, because sometimes we think that if we think of others and put their needs before our own that we will make others happy. However, nobody feels the way they do because of what we do for them. People are responsible for their own feelings. If we are seeking to satisfy others before ourselves, we are increasingly dependent on the positive feedback from other people through their expression of satisfaction and gratitude. Then, if we don’t get it, we find ourselves hurt, angry, and upset. But we did it to ourselves. If we make sure our needs are met first, inwardly, we don’t need to rely on outside feedback to give us positive feelings. After all, our positive feelings can only come from us, and not from the outside.
3. You find comfort in silence and reflective practices.
If you find pleasure in solitude and silence, it’s a positive sign that you don’t need to be busy for the sake of being busy. It’s also a very positive sign that you are not engrossed in the senses, and relying on sensory stimulation to give you pleasure. People who can relish silence and use reflective practices such as meditation or mindfulness to connect with their true inner self are much more balanced, poised, self-assured, at peace, and focused than those who can’t seem to sit still, or believe that they “need” to keep going and going and going. It’s the ability to go inside, and not rely on the outside, that provides us with physical, emotional, and spiritual balance.
What did you discover about yourself? In what areas are you already balanced, and in what areas can you improve?
When we can direct our energy in an active, purposeful, and beneficial way that serves not only us but others as well, we will find that balance that can be difficult to get.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131257392@N07/16477108466
