I was so surprised when she proudly told us that she didn't think she had ever let go of a single thing. Confused too. I had jumped to a conclusion that her serenity was a by-product of a life well lived guided by infinite wisdom. I had, in short, elevated her to an untenably high position, sitting atop a pedestal, far removed from us mere mortals who sat in front of her listening to the Dharma talk she was giving.
She went on to explain... Living more comfortably involves letting be, rather than letting go. It is about living differently alongside that which we cannot control. She described the museums of our minds, in which we need to create a different climate by not feeding those unhelpful thoughts that often plague us. By letting it all be there, simply as it is, we need not identify with it.
There is a paradox inherent in all this - the more aversive we feel towards anything, be it a thought, a feeling, a mood, a mind state, or a sensation, the more we seek to avoid it, the more sticky, and present it becomes, with a far greater likelihood of sticking around. The harder we push, the harder we will have to push, until we have no push left. What we resist, persists. What we let be, will flee (though not necessarily in our desired time frame)...
(The other cited guru was none other than Christina Feldman,
a doyenne of insight meditation and co-founder of Gaia House.)
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