Here it comes again, that old familiar scene: tiredness, worry, anxiety, feeling lost, lonely and confused, not knowing which way to turn or what to do, feeling pressure from all sides—blocked up, closed down, hemmed in—tension in the shoulders, tension in the brow, a shortness of breath, a tightness in the belly . . .
To avoid the discomfort we reach into our usual repertoire of escape techniques: maybe it’s thoughts about how faulty or deficient we are, about how we can never get our act together, about how our life is supposed to look; or perhaps it’s a drink, or other substance of choice, or the tv remote, the credit card, or even those seemingly innocent daydreams; or maybe it’s thoughts of how if only we were more awakened, more enlightened, then our life would open up, then our creativity would blossom, then we’d really be living ‘in the flow’.
What if this ‘uncomfortable’ moment already is the very ‘flow’ we seek?
Instead of attempting to escape the dis-ease—which only ever brings temporary relief—what if we courageously meet those naked sensations, stripped of their mental clothing, and feel the raw, uncategorised agitation, the gnawing ache, abandon all agendas, all expectations, all manipulation and just let go, let go, let go?
In that release, as the moment opens deep and wide, what do we dis-cover?
We discover the wondrous beauty of our vastness, within and out of which each and every experience emerges and dissolves, that can never ever be destroyed, not even scratched—our original, undivided ‘well’ being.
In no longer trying to escape, we pull off the greatest escape of all: the escape from ever needing to escape!
We are always already free. There never are any real shackles or chains. We are free to expand beyond the limits of our comfortable numbness, to live fearlessly, to love openheartedly; free to honour and treasure our dear tenderness, our deep sensitivity; free to cherish the heartaching beauty of our precious human vulnerability.
