Embracing the Flow: Letting Go of Fear

Why are you holding onto anything, when you are being held by everything? – Dr. Duncan Grady (Blackfeet elder)

Hello friends,

Do you remember floating on water? It’s the most relaxing feeling, giving the body over the waves. With nothing to hold onto, somehow you don’t sink. You are held.

When the waters of our lives feel turbulent, we seek something to hold onto. When there is lots of change or uncertainty, we cling and brace. This is an understandable response to fear. It’s a defence.

All that defending makes us tense, and our tension makes us dense. What we are holding onto weighs us down. Do we blame the water for sinking? The waves are just its nature. It’s the bracing and resisting which pulls us under. It’s the nature of life to be up and down, with waves of joy and fear. It’s our relationship to those waves that we have some control over. It’s not the fear itself – that’s just life – but it’s the resistance to fear which makes us feel like we’re drowning.

I’m currently going through one of the biggest transitions of my life. To be honest, a lot of fear is showing up. When it does, I try to remember that I’m held by life, and that fear is part of life. It’s not the fear that makes me tense and stressed, but my resistance to it. When I let go of my resistance, everything gets lighter, flows easier.

So many people want more flow in life. What if we could let down our defences? The breath would come easier, and buoyancy follows breath. When we are willing to risk allowing the fear to flow over us like a wave, we might find that flowing is our nature.

You don’t relax because you are floating. You float because you are relaxing. You know you can ride the waves. You’ve done it before. And even if you can’t be certain, you can choose to have faith.

Don’t take my word for it. Run the experiment for yourself. Try letting go of your resistance and what happens. Let me know your results!

On this journey with you,
Gabriel

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