As I put my fingers on the keyboard of my laptop, I feel the sudden intense urge to go empty the dishwasher. A task I usually find myself avoiding for entire days, but one that’s seeming much more appealing to me in the moment that writing this, then being in the discomfort of expressing myself.
But for some reason today, I choose to be here.
As Pema Chodron shares, “By learning to stay, we become very familiar with this place and gradually, gradually, it loses it’s threat. Instead of scratching, we stay present. We’re no longer invested in constantly trying to move away from insecurity.”
So many of us spend entire lifetimes in avoiding, staying busy, in distraction. It can feel excruciating to be here.
Chodron continues, “ We think that facing our demons is reliving some traumatic event or discovering for sure we’re worthless. But, in fact, it is just abiding with the uneasy, disquieting sensation of nowhere-to-run and finding that — guess what? — we don’t die; we don’t collapse. In fact, we feel profound relief and freedom.
I believe when we turn our attention back to what’s here, reclaim ourselves from distractions, addictions, codependencies, and any other patterns that degrade us - we become our own anchor point. Sovereign. Back to who we are at the very core.
And although there really is no ground that we are seeking in the ever-changing flow of life, we can learn to loosen our grip, to move with life and to trust what’s here in each moment.