“The bad news is you're falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is, there's no ground.” — Chögyam Trungpa
As much as we all might want to grasp onto certainty, something solid and unchanging, the reality is, life is constantly changing and there is nothing to fully grab onto or a solid place to ‘land.’
When we are mindful, we allow ourselves to let go of our fears and anxieties about the future and instead focus on the here and now. This shift in perspective can help us see that things are not as scary as they might seem. Once we can experience that life is constantly changing, we might just use a mere 3 to 4 of our octopus arms instead of all 8. And whew, how relaxing does that feel not to be constantly trying to hold on?! It’s a practice, and some days it’s easier to roll with waves and other days we feel like we need to hold on for dear life. Try to notice what’s going on both around you as well as inside you to cause a kind of narrowing, clenching and need to ‘hold on.’ See what happens if you try loosening, even if for just a minute, or a breath. There might be a little more space, and channeling your inner octopus, “I’m doing it!”