We spend so much time in life grasping at the joys of a moment- it’s as if we believe that if we hold on tight enough, it will etch itself into our essence and will stay with us forever.
Whether it’s gripping at familiarity or holding onto outgrown versions of ourselves from the past, we often find comfort in the known. At times, even in the negative familiar because at least then we know what to expect and can avoid the potentially unsteady ground that exists in the risk of discomfort. Even though a part of us knows the magic exists along that risk edge in the infinite potential of the unknown. Still, we grasp at ideas of who we think we should be, we hold tightly to love to not see it go, we grip onto life and that tension stores within us.
The issue here is that when you hold something with a clenched fist not only can you not see all of its beauty but you also change its shape with your grasp.
Try this:
Open your hands in front of you, palms up, placing the sides of your pinkies next to one another. Notice the fullness of your palms open wide.
Now imagine something you deeply love or enjoy, a moment of connection – earthly magic floats in and hovers overtop of your palms.
Clench your fists, as if to grab hold of the “thing” that came to you. With your hands closed off, you can no longer see its full beauty, and the way it exists has molded to the shape of your hands, changing its original form. There’s also no space for anything else to come in and greet you because you’re expending your energy on that grasp.
Exhale and let it go – open your palms back up. With open palms, we can appreciate what is with us in the now, recognize that eventually, it will float on by to create space for something new and more aligned.
Impermanence is the nature of life and when we learn to be with that process with openness we can embrace all aspects of the human experience.
The same goes for your heart. Keep it open. Risk receiving all the love that has the capacity to flow in – be that through dear friends, loved ones, strangers and the like.
Extend that heart wide open to yourself too. Sink to the centre of your own truth and recognize that when the ground we walk may feel unsteady, when we enter into uncharted territory that the centre of your own heart is always there awaiting your arrival.
Part of this practice is learning to trust oneself with an open heart, to risk the embrace of newness in life with each breath. And while comfort and familiarity may feel safe, when we foster an element of safety within our own heart, we can brush the brink of our comfort zone into growth. We can build our tolerance to grow and evolve into a version of ourselves so bold we have yet to imagine it- and if we keep moving towards it, we might even get to live that version of ourselves out.
So stay open to receiving what is meant for you in any moment, allow it to float in- observe with a gaze of wonder and remember that when it flows away that it carved an imprint on your heart. There was never a need to grasp, for it was going to leave its mark all along.
Tender love and care,
Kai
Wow. Just wow. A simple yet powerful invitation that holds the magic of true transformation. Thank you for extending this (open) hand, Kai!