Inner Gordian Knots

A professional massage therapist will read your body like a map. They will take some time to get oriented, trace the various lines, and then find out where they need to go.

A massage is not always comfortable — especially if it works. You can feel the knots of tension as the massager identifies them, but they won’t leave voluntarily. It’s almost as if your body wants to hold on to the tension, stretching and winding, hoping to evade the therapist’s skilled fingers. You must breathe properly and let go; allow the tension to pass and flow out of your body. If you don’t, you’ll feel slightly pampered afterwards, but the effects won’t last.

Most of our Gordian knots lie inside us. Blobs of inner stiffness are just a very literal example. If your upcoming move causes you lots of stress, perhaps it’s time to reframe the move as a joyful event, after which you’ll have a new home better suited to your current phase of life. If all roads at work seem blocked, maybe you can focus on a different project, switch to another team, or get a new job altogether.

We don’t have to solve problems on the same plane we found them on. In fact, the best solutions often lie on different levels. But in order to see those solutions, just as in a massage, we first have to breathe in, breathe out, and accept the situation as is. Only then can we use our metaphorical swords to cut through our intangible, tangled ropes.

May your back stay pliable and your mind stay sharp — so you can slash away on the inside and thus solve the world outside.