Juiciness

There are many ways of getting the juice from an orange. Rather like there are many ways of getting the juice out of life in general or out of everyday of our lives in particular. In fact, although they may not be the only fruit, oranges and their liquid contents are a useful metaphor for the way we are being.

Take the way we make more, or make the most out of our days.

If we are in a good state or quality of mind then our days progress much more smoothly and pleasurably than if we are feeling in a low mood, or at a low ebb. How we are being “colours” our day, affects our entire perspective this particular day. We may have an illness, some pain or dis-ease, that becomes the centre of our attention rather than out on the periphery. We might wake up feeling rough, look out of the window and the weather adds to our “roughness”. We’ve got something dull or unpleasant coming up on today’s calendar.

These are all things Outside of us that we are judging and drawing in and affecting how things are going on Inside of us. We seem powerless to stop how this affecting is taking place. Our life is predicated on an Outside-In perspective. This is familiar. We have been told since we were young – and have experiential references to back that up – that this is the way it is. “Better get used to it – life can be tough. Start learning now – some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the tree. This is the way it is.”

However, there is a phrase I hear more and more these days – “It is what it is.”

So is this different from “This is the way it is”?

Maybe, just maybe, these two phrases are completely different!
The way it is seems to refer to Life, whereas It is what it is seems to refer to circumstances.
And here is the difference –

Circumstances are (IS) what they are (IS), and they happen.
Life, all lives in general AND our lives in particular, are most definitely not always this way.
They are ALWAYS only ever this way, however, when we are living an Outside-In perspective – when we choose, fall into, or follow through a lack of Understanding, an Outside-In perspective.

Be More Juicy – from the Inside-Out!

There is a certain amount of juice in every orange – yet there is also peel, pulp and pith. Now if I choose to press each half orange in a hard driven, aggressive way on my hand juicer, then I notice that the peel of the orange begins to collapse very quickly under the force I am applying.

If I press the orange in a more sympathetic way then I get more juice, oddly enough.

Similarly, if I drop the orange on the kitchen floor a few times, then the peel loses resilience and cannot seem to keep the firmness of its shape. If I then decide to get the juice out then cutting the orange in two becomes a lot harder, and pressing it onto the juicer is a much messier affair –resulting, again, in less juice.
And if I throw it on the floor a few times the peel will crack and the juice will end up more on the floor than eventually in the juicer.

So, although I may sound a bit cheesy (sorry) here - in order to get more juice from the inside of the orange out into the juicer I need to treat my orange with love, respect, TLC, be sympathetic towards it, and Understand what best needs to happen for me to get an optimal amount of juice!

And in metaphorical terms, This is the Way it IS with Life too. When we live our lives from an Understanding of the Inside-Out perspective, we find that regardless of the circumstances (the Orange), we will always get the most juice out of it if we take the sympathetic, loving, respectful pathway.

So, the responsibility we choose for our life is about the way WE go about extracting the juice. With an Understanding of that way our lives become much more enriched, fulfilled, healthy, and we flourish – we bloom, we flower. Constant striving and over-trying become far less prevalent things in our lives and we see downsides, disappointments and “failures” for what they really are ... opportunities.

“Ok, Pete,” you might say. “What is this Inside-Out that you talk about? Tell me more. Is it easy?”

“Well, I would say it is simple rather than easy. Easy implies doing precious little ourselves, and taking no responsibility. Whereas, simple means it is not complex – it is straightforward. It requires an open mind, which for us –as humans – is not always easy. We have an intellect, a conscious ego that wants to be in control and run “the show”, drive the car – be in charge of the Juicing, if you like! And it is this part of us that is ONLY ever familiar with Outside-In, so that when IT is in charge, our lives go off-kilter and we feel at the mercy of circumstances, we are at effect rather than being responsible and at cause.”

“Ok, so it is simple rather than easy, and I need an open mind. What else?”

“You need to begin to gain an Understanding of the Power of Thought, and your relationship with your thinking. Once you ‘get it’ that everything you experience is only a creation of your perceptive filtering, your thinking let’s say, then that relationship changes. Once you get it that no matter how REAL things might be, feel or seem to you, they are only really your perceptive interpretations, then you are gaining an understanding of Inside-Out.”

And then Life begins to get so much more JUICY!