“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
~ Andre Gide
When you want something more you have to be willing to let go of what you already have. Otherwise there’s no space for the new to fill in.
Let go. Let go. Let go, my friend.
Have faith and set sail!
“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”
~ Anatole France
It’s okay, my friend, to be sad and not know why. Things aren’t always what they seem; though quiet on the surface, transformation happens deep within. It could just be that you are grieving the releasing of the part of you that’s been holding you back from receiving the new.
Remember, it’s darkest before the dawn. And, yes, there is always a new dawn.
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
It’s never easy to make your way through the darkness, however it manifests. But it’s in these darkest moments that the light from beyond begins beckoning.
Remember, it’s through contrast that we find clarity. So bless the darkness, my friend, and start looking beyond.
What is it you want to experience?
Breath and Energy Are One
“There are many ways to work with energy, but none better than breath. If only breath work cost a tremendous amount of money and took years to master — there might be more respect for its amazing power. But it’s free, and it’s something you can experience within forty-five seconds.”
~ David Pond, The Pursuit of Happiness
Why do we feel like the more something costs, in time or money or in some other way, the more value it holds? As in the fancier the beverage, the better it is. Why do we think this way?
Really, my friend, it’s the basic things in life, like the air we breathe and the water we drink, that provide the foundation for life. Right? I trust you understand that our bodies must have oxygen and they must have water to survive.
Complicated isn’t better, it’s just more complicated. If our minds need this to feel superior, well, good luck to us in finding peace of mind.
Breathe consciously, my friend, drink lots of water, and see if your life doesn’t improve. And remember, the most important things in life are free.
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”
~ Chinese Proverb
Which one of these two energies is running your life, my friend? What do you feel more often, tension or relaxation?
Why not relax and accept who you are? I’ll bet everything will go more smoothly if only you would.
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
~ Marcus Aurelius
While you can’t control outside events, my friend, you can control how you respond to them. So often our immediate impulse is to judge something as wrong or bad. But that first impression is coming from just one perspective. How many other perspectives can you view it from?
Even though it seems bad, try pondering the question, “What possible good can come from this?” and see what new ideas and perspectives present themselves.
There’s an interesting phenomena you’ll discover with that. We tend to find what we send our mind looking for. Now, wouldn’t you rather experience some good outcomes instead of bad ones?
Your strength, my friend, comes from getting your mind to work for you, not against you!
“Jesus suggested that we bless our enemies. I interpret this as deliberately changing my negative patterns, which I have built through this law of attention, into creative positive patterns that will produce what I really want. I take my present fears and change them into new areas of faith and expectancy of good. I take my present dislike of people and turn it into new avenues of communication where I see the best that is in everyone.”
~ Raymond Charles Barker, The Power of Decision
You can do this, too, my friend.
Notice how your mind can be your worst enemy or your best friend. And now notice how in either case you’re the one directing it.
Choose faith over fear, compassion over punishment, love over hate, etc. That’s all it takes.
“What is a depression? It’s part of a wave. A wave is one-half depression and one-half crest. If you want to cause a wave on a tranquil sheet of water, just throw something in. When something falls in, it creates a depression first. Adjoining the depression, a crest of water is formed. The crest is your effort to fulfill the depression. The cause of depression is a desire, or a want, that has fallen into your mind.”
~ Sri Swami Satchidananda, Beyond Words
Life is always cyclical. There is always the ups and downs of the waves, the ebbs and flows of the tides. But, like he says, the trough is only one-half of the wave and the other half, the crest, adjoins it. This is something you can trust, my friend. And remember, the depth of the trough indicates the height of the crest. It’s one-half, right?
Acknowledge, my friend, that depression is normal, it’s a natural part of the cycles of life. But there’s no sense in getting stuck in it. Why not prepare to ride the wave that’s sure to follow instead?
Just be sure to anticipate a good one — the fulfillment of your desire even!