Remedy for restless nights: Contentment [Santosha]
Sometimes bedtime looks like this
No matter how enlightened you are, bedtime can still be less than a state of nirvana.
There are good nights, and then there are anxious nights, where the never ending list of todos and worries keep our brain from fully resting.
Living in the moment, staying present and letting tomorrow worry about tomorrow, is one of my biggest weaknesses. I’ve been so wired for multi-tasking and productivity, it takes gargantuan discipline to stay in the moment. It is also a trait that is most difficult to shake off if you have built your entire successful life based on being ultra good a juggling and multi-tasking.
In order to rest properly, one needs to stay in the moment and be fully present.To stay in the moment, one must be content with not knowing what tomorrow brings. And one must be content with uncertainty, incompletion of tasks, and acceptance that life will not be perfect. Staying present and fully living the moment requires a constant state of contentment.
When I first learned of the Niyamas in my yoga teacher training programme, santosha (contentment) was the first lesson that hit me really hard. I used to think that contentment keeps people slow, average and unmotivated. But age, experience and consciousness has taught me a different perspective to this. Contentment isn’t about not caring, it is about doing your best (and sometimes doing beyond your best) and still be detached from the outcome of your effort. It seems so contradictory but this is why it’s beautiful.
Contentment requires us to have a dose of humility to accept that there are forces in this world that are beyond our control. Even with our best effort, discipline, intelligence and plannings, the outcome may still not what we wished it to be. Accepting this on a daily basis allows us to stay grounded, humbled and connected with the practical.
So the next time you have a restless night, tell yourself that there is nothing you can do to control the outcome of the next day. The world and the universe is much more complex and intelligent than what we can perceive now. Letting go is a ritual in humility, acceptance and the flow of life that we are all a part of.