Any movement, whatever the direction or course is significantly defined by how we view. That we have to chart a path and perhaps even create the territory has to be matter for consideration. This is even more so if we move with a view. Parameters, of any nature, become indispensable with the traversing of the ground we choose to tread. When it comes to the body, such goalposts are often described in terms of specific loci. Thus our reading of definite sensations. The quality of our interpretation however, is likely a separate movement.

The common factors as alluded to above are the spanning of ground coupled with our measure of where we stand. There is a likelihood that habits are a means for assessing such passage. Take the habit of drinking tea for instance. When we drink tea, we assess our ability to breath and swallow, and our capacity to feel. The taste, the smell and the fullness are in many ways, feelings, and this implies that we measure against their absence. The swallowing confers a locus through which the other sensations are viewed.

The interpretation of the anchoring and the viewing is likely also a sensation, with its locus being the quality of interpretation. The pervasiveness of habits might stem from the vastness of the range of possible quality. In simpler terms, our habits while being anchored in the body are in play outside it.

Hence the import and influence of habits. The closer the anchor and view to the body, the more the certainty. Perhaps it might be reasonable to suggest that habits give us a sense of certainty. Therefore, they confer routine and comfort in the face of all that we cannot and do not know.

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That we have to think, consider, view and act is obvious. In many ways, the activities of our psyche are formations, based on our individual make-up, the ambience we are in and the degree of interaction between ourselves and the various elements of our environment. Such mental formations are inevitable and might be seen as occurring not only in the individual consciousness but also within the wider ambience. Mostly, the mental emphasis that arises is a factor of our ambience, whether circumstantial, situational, interpersonal or functional. Notwithstanding the popular preoccupation with notions such as individuality, the systems that we exist in and interface with are completely intertwined.

This means that mental formations arise and ebb contingent upon how one interacts with the numerous elements of the field we are in. And mental emphasis situates within the context of ourselves, our ambience, as well as the dynamicity of the interaction between self and environment. That pain and uncertainty are universal cannot but impinge upon this interaction as also upon mental formations. The chain of arisings is therefore as follows, intertwining systems, the degree of interaction between these systems, mental formations and then mental emphasis.

Why might all this be important? Because, in adopting a certain mental emphasis, we cannot singularly pick ourselves or what might be exclusively pleasant. For balance to come about, mental emphasis ought to incorporate uncertainty and pain as much as what might be seen as certain. If this is done, it becomes possible to configure our existence in a way that allows the harmonious integration of what is easy to bear as well as what is not.

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We can ask why there are problems or we can choose to enquire into what we can learn. The fruitful exploration of our psyche likely needs impediments. Without a parameter that stands for the hardness of our reality, what is truly meaningful cannot be discovered. While the absence of obstacles could be visualized as ideal, trusting that even difficulties yield value aids in managing pain without fear.

That our circumstances can be difficult ought to be given equal weightage, and as much attention as our preoccupation or anticipation of pleasurable happenstance. In readying for setbacks, we clearly see that such attention and consideration should be time bound. If we can do as much as we can, and then stop or shift focus, our system learns to maintain vigil. Just that much is a gifting that only setbacks confer.

Constraints are also part of the way. From their unwieldiness springs the means for movement and momentum. A path that is always smooth and clear does not bring into focus the value of the destination. In charting a tough course, not only do we learn to rely on what is sustainable, we begin to see that it is the roadblocks that actually create the space for us to move!

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Managing stress is made easier if we try and clearly see that the stress we feel is a response. With this clarity might come a willingness to study and work with our responses. Our experiences are determined by how we perceive through the senses. What we see and hear or sense dictates how we feel and think. Strangely, our thoughts and emotions in turn influence what we see and hear. The objective reality we think we face is based on what we understand.

There is a likelihood that if we were to decide that a certain event was positive, we would likely attend more to what is pleasant within it. And doing so would reinforce the conclusion that this happenstance was positive. That is how it is with managing stress. Our response to what is occurring determines what we attend to.

Say for instance we were to think and believe that we ought to modify what is happening. We would likely focus more on what is disagreeable about it. And our senses would be more attuned to picking up elements that cause difficulty. Following this line of thought seems to emphasize the value of acceptance. Accepting that things may be painful lessens the distress associated with it. With this happening, we start to attend less to difficult elements of the experience.

This creates room and perhaps the ability to view, think and interpret in a more wholesome fashion. The knowledge that things can go wrong while disturbing, prepares us for difficulties. With the proper preparation, what might be stressful can be more efficiently negotiated.

Managing stress calls for reevaluating our understanding of what we believe. If we conclude that distress ought to be exclusively avoided or prevented, we miss the value of learning even when there is pain. If we keep learning despite what is happening, we can always depend on our thoughts and actions.

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