I always wonder why the universe gives us these gifts when we let go. Don't we need them a tad more when we are desperately searching and in need? Perhaps it's the universe's way of teaching us the lesson of letting go.
Somewhere between the Nile turning to blood, and the hail storm, a terrible thought strikes me. What if it's not Moses who is supposed to inspire me? What if Pharaoh is the one I should identify with?
A skier in the water is supposed to hold up a ski, but I didn't have that option. I just couldn't let go of the rope. And when my father asked me why, I said, "Daddy, I had to try!"
When I compare how nature "does life" with such effortless grace and ease, with how we so often struggle, thinking we have to force or push things in a specific direction to create a fruitful and rewarding life worth living, I have to chuckle. Life flows, we need not try to push it.
Today in Washington a great battle is unfolding between Republicans preparing to filibuster the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the new consumer protection agency and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is battling to save the agency from these Republican attacks.
Stuff piles up in life, just like the snow, and it's a pain in the neck to shovel through it all. That's why sometimes, no matter the weather, it's a good idea to declare a snow day, fix a cup of tea and do nothing at all.
Making peace with your anxiety and not fighting it is a concept used in everyday mindfulness training that was first introduced to me years ago when I was grappling with severe symptoms of anxiety.
"Know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em" are lyrics from a famous Kenny Rogers song, and they apply to life in so many ways. When do you give up? When do you throw up your hands and let things take their course, despite being unhappy with the state of it all?
There is a well-known saying that contains great wisdom: "Pain in life is a given, but suffering is a choice." Truly, suffering happens when we want life to be other than the way it is in the moment.
When we want anything badly -- a job, a relationship, money, a stroke of creative genius, etc. -- it creates an air of desperation. And this energy of desperation acts like a rubber wall and a heavy coat of armor -- what you want can't get to you.
I know the beauty of surrender -- the surrender of releasing my concerns upwards and of surrendering up to the greatest good and guidance available for me. It looks like relaxing and being patient, not being inactive but following inspired action.
Lacking emotional intelligence is the norm in our culture, and it is common behavior to hold our relationships hostage to our internal dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Tragically, it is too easy to buy into rejection and accept the blame.
As I began to grow up, I attempted to define myself -- this presence of "I" -- through endlessly collecting information. In this natural process of mental awareness inhabiting a body, I discovered a symphonic mandala of sometimes competing, sometimes complementing explanations.
The thing about holding on, letting go, and surrender is that when we fully realize our oneness with all, there is nothing to hold onto and nothing to let go of -- it is all here and all one.
Just as the sparse landscape of the Sinagua is a monument to survival skills and, ultimately, surrender, my mother's legacy will include rising to challenges and bowing to the inevitable.
Have you ever met someone for the first time and -- not in a romantic or sexual way -- inexplicably tumbled into a space-time vortex of pure human-to-human connection?
The truth is, "will"-power won't -- it won't sustain us for the long haul because it's being held in place only by the conscious mind, and that part of the mind tends to get distracted, bored, tired and restless.
For weeks now, Michael has been doing everything in his power to protect Fiona from Anson. It's caused him to compromise a lot, even crossing lines th...
The initial feelings that rushed over me after hearing the announcement that we're pulling out of Iraq were of deep relief. But then they turned to deep sadness over the terrible cost of a war that was always wrong: intellectually, politically, strategically and, above all, morally.
Congratulations to the Tea Party for a great victory. Congratulations to President Obama and Democrats for another brilliantly executed surrender. Condolences to the jobless whose plight will become even worse after this deal.
Washington is an island drowning in its own self-interest, surrounded by a hurting and unhappy nation of deeply patriotic citizens who hunger for shared national purpose but find our politics to be sickening, insulting and corrupted.
What the president needs is a Hollywood agent who knows how to negotiate, how to avoid these endless capitulations and surrenders, and how to close a big deal on favorable terms.