Why We Let Go (again)

A young friend, five-year old Jason, went with his big brother on a longish hike with me and my good friend Bob. When we got back his mother asked if he liked hiking. Jason said, "Yeah, I like it." Then cocking his head as he thought more about it he said, "Except you have to walk."

Do we like fullness of Life? Joy? Love?

Yeah. We like 'em. Except...it seems we have to make room for them because we're stopped up with other stuff. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the pleasure of Fullness without having the bother of Emptying!

Here's another chanty kind of thing:

There is much to appreciate within our selves.

Yet the usual experience of fullness of self

blocks fresh experience of fullness of being.

As we work to be more mindful it doesn't take long to notice we are distracted by many, many things. Noticing is the first part of the work. Mindfulness teachers can describe the common kinds of things we all notice, but the real 'aha' comes from experiencing the noticing for ourselves.

The payoff comes over and over again as we do the work and recognize that much of what we're involved with in our minds and hearts isn't what we need or truly want to be involved with. With these recognitions letting go stops feeling like a chore and starts looking more like the very trail we long to hike.