Reflections of Ourselves

Dali Lama Himself said once...

"If you can go to sleep every night without taking a pill or a drink, go through a financial crisis and remain totally calm of the outcome, lose a loved one and be completely content, have your neighbor travel the world and not feel the slightest bit jealous, have people talk about you badly and not let their words hurt and cut you inside..... If you can go through all these emotions and not feel, then you are probably a dog. We are human and need to feel angry, hurt, jealous and loss. That way we appreciate the opposites"

So my interpretation is, the only way we know that we are 'happy' or 'today is a good day' or 'a person is really genuine and nice' is because you were once unhappy, had a shit day and met someone that was evil. 

Light and dark, happy and sad, good and evil. You need to be lost before you're found and you can't have one without the other. 

We know we are on the right path of happiness because we meet people so caught up in their own beliefs they disregard others. Feel for these people, but don't own their unhappiness, they will have to find their own... 

Trust

Trust is a confusing thing, It seems so simple.

But when you try to pin it down it can be elusive.

I think of the way that my body sits on a new surface that is new to me.

Unknown, and how my muscles remain tight. Anticipating anything.

And I’m constantly aware of that surface.

Over time with familiarity I can relax and start to lean back.

For many of us that initial tension exists so much of the time.

We expend so much energy watching and calculating.

Trying to predict.

Reading signals in people

Ready for anything to change suddenly.

Preparing to be disappointed...

So much energy spent.

We talk about trust as something you build.

As if it’s a structure or a thing.

But in that building there is something about letting go.

What it affords us is a luxury. It allows us to stop thinking.

To stop worrying that someone won’t catch us if we fall.

To stop constantly scanning for inconsistencies. 

To stop wondering how other people act when they’re not in our presence.

It allows us to relax a part of our minds and focus what’s in front of us.

And that’s why it’s such a tragedy when it’s broken.

A betrayal can make you think of all the other betrayals that are waiting for you.

Things you haven't thought of.

People you rely on.

And you can feel yourself tightening up. Bracing.

And in the worst cases, might resolve to trust no one.

But… That doesn’t really work.

Trust is your relationship to the unknown.

When you lose control and you can’t control everything.

And it’s not all or None, it’s a slow and steady practice of learning about the capacity of the world.

And it’s worth it.

To keep trying!

And it’s not easy,,

Buddha says that trust is like a fork.

Not one way but many ways.

Physical, emotional and maybe something else.

I almost imagine trust as these invisible hands that we stretch out into the world looking for someone to hold onto as we walk into the unknown future.

Sometimes we grasp onto something bad, but sometimes it is good.

So ask yourself, who is in your life that you can trust?

To forget about questioning. To let go of fears and let’s you lean back.

To let you enjoy the surface you’re sitting on.

To stop thinking.