Your Energy
Taylor Swift said something that went viral a few months ago. It was something like "Treat your energy as though it were a luxury item." Basically saying to be selective about where you are spending it. This assumes that energy is a rare commodity, something that, once depleted, will be hard to recover. The idea is that you should not give it away to the wrong people or activities. That seems valid, but let's take a look. The question here then is: What is energy, where does it come from, where does your energy go, and does it come back to you? Let's take an unscientific approach and see what we find.
What is energy?- Albert Einstein has been credited with saying, "Everything is energy, and that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want, and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics." As this quote uses New Age manifestation language, it was certainly not him who said that, but it is an interesting definition of energy. That would mean that energy is a constant, flowing all around us, part of everything that we can perceive and part of everything that we cannot. It is not 'scarce', it is everything.
Others have said, "Nothing is as it appears. What seems to be solid, physical reality is, in fact, a complex system of vibrating energies. What our eyes actually see are dancing patterns that we recognize as objects or living creatures. We are connected with what we see by pulsating waves of light-energy." - unknown. If this is correct, then we are energetically connected to everything.
Are you able to 'manufacture' it or increase it through physical habits/thoughts? "Everything is energy. Your thought begins it. Your emotions amplify it. Your action increases its momentum." - unknown. It appears that you can increase energy, and that energy appears to behave somewhat like Newton’s first law: momentum often creates more momentum. If this is true, then "protecting" your energy, if taken to the extreme, would decrease it. "I do think that we all have inner energy... Frustration and fear, of course, are the two greatest obstacles that keep any form of energy and vitality completely paralyzed... I sincerely believe that energy grows from itself, and the more energy you expand...the more you create within yourself. I also believe that energy is a habit... In other words, use your energy, and more energy flows." - Diana Vreeland.
The electromagnetic energy that your heart produces is said to reach three feet out in all directions from itself. It stands to reason that, since we are all energetically entangled, the type of energy filling the heart would affect everything close to it. Where attention goes, energy flows- "Energy is the currency of the universe. When you 'pay' attention to something, you buy that experience. So when you allow your consciousness to focus on someone or something that annoys you, you feed it your energy, and it reciprocates the experience of being annoyed. Be selective in your focus because your attention feeds the energy of it and keeps it alive, not just within you, but in the collective consciousness as well." - Emily Maroutian.
Since there are many kinds of energy, how does one clear a space for the right kind of energy to enter? "You give life to what you give energy to." - unknown. I do believe that it is true that we give energy to the things that we notice. It is tempting to think that any emotion or situation that arises that we do not like, we should ignore, but this causes more problems as it denies the truth. "There are many ways to calm negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile at it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation." - Thich Nhat Hanh.
Even if the energy of the universe itself is infinite, our personal capacity to access and direct it is not. Physically, if you do not take time to eat, hydrate, and sleep, you will eventually collapse and die. Mentally, we can stress ourselves out to the point where we freeze and are unable to do anything. "Overthinking is the biggest waste of human energy. Trust yourself, make a decision, and gain more experience. There is no such thing as perfect. You cannot think your way into perfection, just take action." - unknown. Emotionally, we can run our well dry as trying to be something that we are not expends an enormous amount of energy. "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Albert Camus. Is it possible that whether an experience can be deemed a waste of time and energy can be controlled by changing our perspective and looking at the bright side?
What do you do when you think that you are vibrating at a high energy level, and you perceive that other people in your vicinity are not receiving it well? "You can't control how other people receive your energy. Anything you do or say gets filtered through the lens of whatever they are going through at the moment. Which is not about you. Just keep doing your thing, with as much integrity and love as possible." - Nanes Hoffman.
Pay attention to what is going on around you and make the best decisions that you can based on your current situation. "Absolutely nothing that is meant for you will require you to compromise your integrity, lower your energy, or abandon your values and boundaries to receive it." - HealwithAshley. Protecting your energy does not mean never leaving the house, so you don't have to deal with the unpleasant. Protecting your energy is about being honest about the situation, making a plan, and being adaptable. "Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions." - Tony Robbins.
You have a life to live, people to care for, and problems to deal with. This will require you to expend energy. If you are going to use mental energy to overthink, spend some time overthinking the best possible outcomes instead of catastrophizing over the future. "Imagine if you invested the same energy that you use to doubt yourself to actually believe in who you are and all that you can do. Imagine if you thought of the best-case scenarios. You can start doing it now. Your mind can be retrained and guided to be optimistic and a believer." - Doe Zantamata. Your energy is not simply something to protect from the world, but something that can be shaped, directed, renewed, and expanded by the way you think, act, and engage with life. By changing your thinking, those things that appear to be energy drains can be used to grow your energy to the point that you can handle it all. 😀
Love and Hope,
Big Sky Baby