Embracing the unknown is meant to be a healing experience. It challenges us by bringing us face to face with our lack of control, yet it brings us peace and freedom to admit and allow this in a courageous way.
By now we're getting comfortable with the unknown, right? We are consistently resting in the wisdom, that things work out fine most the time. Our previous need to know was fueled by our fear, that everything turns out wrong. Now that we know that isn't sensibly true the unknown is no longer such a threat. We can relax into the positive present, trust ourselves to handle what happens and trust that our life's circumstances will turn out "good enough". My motto, and an attitude of gratitude and courage.
If you can change your thinking and make "trust" and "good enough" your story, you will look back and see the huge amounts anguish and stress you saved yourself by not worrying and complaining. It's shockingly wonderful, and with practice you won't forget it.
Practice is the consistent effort to integrate a new truth completely into the fabric of your consciousness. It's like weaving in a new strand of mindfulness to make a new pattern. You have to re-apply trust and safety consciously every time you go into fear. Every old reaction has to be dealt with as it arises. Every condemning remark your complaining mind makes has to be laughed at, and we have to constantly remind ourselves of our commitment to compassion.
It's like positive brainwashing. It takes time for all the little tiny scrubbing bubbles of mindfulness to scrub scrub scrub away the old grime and crud of our unconsciousness. (forgive me. lol).
So what about hope? Now that we've uncovered the farce of hopelessness, do we turn around and embrace hope?
Webster says: Hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation
This kind of hope is a bad set up used to fool us out of despair. It's another form of attachment and expectation. It's "not a good strategy" as they say. Webster uses the words: anticipation and expectation. These are the exact forms of agonizing that keep us from being at peace.
But how can we live our lives without hope? They say life without hope isn't worth living, but I'm not sure they were right.
Life without seeing the truth is a problem. To me, hope is naturally present when I let go of the negative exaggerations assumptions of the complaining mind. False hope is just another risky assumption. We need to re-frame hope so that it realigns us with the truth rather than creating false comfort.
Hope comes from our heart but we have to use our head to manage it. It's another form of compassion but also another form of desire. If we hope for realistic, positive possibilities with an unconditionally accepting attitude, it supports us. If it crave for certain things to happen the way we want, it's defeating.
When someone travels you hope they are safe, When they try for a job, you hope they get it. It feels like a way to express love and concern but that doesn't mean its helpful. The best way to offer hope to others or yourself, is to wish them peace no matter what happens, and assure them that things usually work out and they can count on you for support.
Consciously unconditional hope, still allows for a different results without complaining about them. Interestingly enough, what life delivers instead is often much more intelligent and beneficial. Surrender isn't difficult when you think you're surrendering to something wiser than yourself.
This is my motto:
Things always change. Sometimes it feels good and sometimes it doesn't. No matter what happens things turn out good enough most of the time and what I fear rarely happens. I am alive, loved and safe in this moment. If things get tough, I trust life will be there to get me through it, until I run up against that one thing I won't be able to stand that will kill me, and that has to be okay because death is as much a part of life as anything else. This is my story and I'm sticking to it.
Something to laugh at: I just spent the last five months waking up at 3:30 AM. It was a challenging practice but I actually managed. I surrendered to it and grew tremendously, only to discover I had bought a watch I never wore and stuck it in a drawer. It's alarm was set for 3:30 AM. My practice? I have to laugh!
My preference is that you are having a wonderful weekend journey. Full of wonder and curiosity, at what gifts the next unexpected moment will bring.
Peace to you,
Bryan
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