Hold on tightly - Let go lightly

Most of us want security. And most of us have been programmed to think this is coming to us as financial freedom, or wealth.

 

Work hard, invest smart, go viral on social media, be a star.

 

If you are not born rich, and most of us apparently aren't, then you need to find and build this security yourself.

 

So we start chasing and whatever we get, we try and keep it. A house, a car, a boat, two cars, and a holiday house.

 

The rat race is on, and every time we collect something new, it loses its shine quickly. It does not seem to bring the security we are seeking. Our ego-driven minds are clever though and will find the next thing to get a hold of. If we lose what we held, we tell ourselves that we have to try again. 

 

Materialism, consumerism. We all know what it is called and even if you want to get rid of it, you start working against it. And you cling on to your new status as a non-materialist and non-conformist. And all your new friends are the same and now you collect new identity tokens. You are vegan, you buy secondhand clothing and recycle stuff.

 

Does this free you mentally?

 

Not so much.

 

There is nothing wrong with trying to be someone. What is wrong is the clinging. And then there is the defending, the clinging. Judging others for clinging to something different.

 

The fight for peace. But is fighting not at odds with peace?

 

 

 

It is important that, in each moment, you find comfort in the things you cling to and identify with.

The art of living in the now is also knowing when it is time to let go. Temporarily or indefinitely.

 

Ram Das said: I love you so much, I don't care if I ever see you again.

 

This is is the 'hold on tightly, let go lightly' mantra in a nutshell. You love someone. Not in the 'I love you so much, don't you dare ever leave me again' kind of way.

Your love is rooted in compassion that runs wide and deep. Compassion that intermingles with faith. Faith in yourself.

 

You know you can be complete without the other.

You know the other can be complete without you.

You know that both of you and, for that matter, anyone else will be fine. 

 

Compassion is something most of us don't learn to develop and nurture. Instead, we are mostly raised to be independent and co-dependent. 

Entire books and movies are dedicated to lost loves, broken hearts and ruined relationships.

 

While this has a place, it is also not the compassionate love in the spiritual sense.

 

 

 

What are you holding tightly? Can you let go of it?

Can you imagine letting go of it lightly?

 

Start with something small. Maybe you cling to a habit, an object, or a moment in the past.

 

Your coffee in the morning, a pair of socks, that moment you stayed home, but you felt you should have gone out.

 

Think of it, observe it. Now let it go. 

 

You can do this multiple times a day. As soon as you feel clinging to an object, desire, or moment blocks you.

 

It is in compounded micro-changes that you compound achieve personal transformation.