It comes on slowly, unnoticably. At first, it’s just a tiny shift in our thought process, so small we don’t register it. There’s fewer, “I need a new shirt”s. Less “I definitely need a new car”s. And not as many “I wish I had her boots”.
Friends might be the first to notice: “She’s not as into shopping anymore.” And, the more perceptive ones: “She seems a bit more content. More, at ease, somehow. Settled.”
This is the gift of Asteya: the yama, or one of yoga’s best-life behavioural tips, that translates to non-stealing. It involves not taking more than we need. What begins as simply monitoring our base cravings, progresses to choosing more positive thoughts, and culminates in action, resonates as a change on the inside.
We’re okay with what we have. Sure, we still look great (in shoes from Gravity Pope and jeans from Lucky, perhaps). It’s just that now, we know it. We’re no longer comparing ourselves to others, laden with the latest trends. We wear what we have. We are who we are. And we’re okay with that.
p.s. (And when we go to a restaurant opening or fashion show and notice the insecurities and cravings rising again? We’ve got that inner core of self-sufficiency, helping us let them go.)
