Today marks a big day in the life of Greer Van Dyck. For me, when I was a student in nursing school I remember my days of new student orientation, and I remember the mindset that I carried with me along with my 10000 pounds of books. I was a person who was mostly concerned with how my actions looked in the eyes of others. I do remember entering into the doors of The Medical College of Georgia, and almost feeling arrogant. I felt like I was really “doing something” with my college education, instead of picking a general/nonspecific major that really wouldn’t take me anywhere. I had justified moving to a city that I wasn’t entirely excited about because I felt that the next two years were going to put me in a much better standing than if I were to stay at The University of Georgia. What an incredible mindset, well now I retract that. It isn’t necessarily amazing that I had that mindset, because honestly arrogance is part of everyone’s life at one point or another. But the problem I feel now on retrospect is being okay with having that mindset. Being okay with feelings that my course was better than anyone else’s was really where I have quite an issue. Regardless, I embarked on this journey of completing my undergraduate requirement where all I could focus my mind on was what my next step was going to be, how fabulous people would think it was, and how good it was going to feel. Wow.
Then, under pressure, I made it a point to use my friends as a crutch so that I could get to this “perfect future” that I had envisioned for myself for so long. Well, we all know from my previous postings how that course progressed and the realizations that I was forced to come to. You all understand that shame and guilt were very familiar feelings throughout school. But what was incredible about that period of time was until I had my breaking moment and had hit my wall, I was so intent on where I was going to be down the road. Then I immediately switched to not letting myself able to let go of the past. Suddenly I was so overly self aware and became a watch hawk of my behavior. I was basically walking on egg shells, maybe as an attempt to try and compensate for my years of poor behavior.
And then I stepped into the doors of Naropa University. An institution that emphasizes practices to incorporate purity into one’s life. This school has a strong foundation of Buddhism which runs through the veins of the students and faculty. There is an incredible inclination to be “mindful” or forever present in the moment. It is a practice that isn’t easy to develop, because I feel as though so many people in this day and age are focused everywhere else but the present. But on this day of the start of my new journey, I am neither focused in the past or the present but the now.
There were so many people around me, young and old who were eager and desperate for a brand new approach on the day. So many students craving the spiritual journey of expansion were around me, and I found myself privileged to be in the presence of such peace of mind. I am hoping to adopt this mindfulness in my every day life.
I took my seat ready to start fresh, and the woman's name who sat next to me is my age. She has long brown hair with a similar build as me, and after introductions discovered that her name was Eve. Out of +/- 100 students, she sat next to me.
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