Inspiration for tough times.........

An excerpt from The Seeker's Guide by Elizabeth Lesser:

"Things are always ending and arising and ending," says Pema Chodron. "But we are strangely conditioned to want to experience just the birth part and not the death part......We have so much fear of not being in control, of not being able to hold on to things. Yet the true nature of life is that we're never in control; we can never hold on to anything. That's how life is. Although we can perhaps accept this intellectually, moment by moment it brings up a lot of panic and fear. So my own path has been learning to relax with this lack of control and the panic that accompanies it, learning to stay in the space of uncertainty, learning to die continually."

This is a message I need to remind myself of often. Although I claim to be very laid back and laissez-faire in regard to life, I cling to fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of making the wrong decision. Letting go of fear is going to be difficult for me but I believe it is essential for living a fulfilled life!

I'm trying to learn:

"But in order for the new to be born, we must learn how to let the old die. There is no room for the new in a heart that clings to old."

And finally, what can I do about it:

Lesser says, "Whatever it is that is making you afraid of change, or loss, or death, let it engulf you right now. Imagine it as a swift and broad river, and yourself in the river, floating, traveling, moving along in the waters of change and loss. Tell yourself that you do not know what the outcome of this journey will be. For just a moment, give up thinking you know where the river is taking you or should be taking you. Give up your dread, your worst-case scenarios, your sense of knowing what is going to happen. Because you don't know. You couldn't. The river of your life is too deep and meandering, its currents far too complex and shifting for you to know the course it will take. Instead, just as an experiment, meet the fear of loss and change with openness and relaxed curiosity, as if you are floating on your back, easy about what you'll find around the next bend."