Tuesday, September 12, 2023
The Buddha talked about the root causes of suffering, and one of them is clinging to clutching to something. This doesn’t have to be a physical object, it can be anything. Think of what you cling to – something you want to have, something you wish to get rid of, something you want to change, or a belief. Many of those things keep you stuck. You may think you need to be in your job and you can’t quit, never thinking that something else could be available if you created the space for yourself. We hold onto youth, thinking that it’s the most valuable commodity there is, so we get tummy tucks, facelifts, and Botox.
But life doesn’t allow you to hold onto anything. You can’t even hold onto your own body. It’s all on loan. The key is to just let it all come in and out freely. I tend to cling to the past, or the need to know the future. It get stuck in beliefs too, holding onto things that just aren’t serving me well.
What do you think you are holding on to? If you really get into it, you’ll see that it creates a source of great suffering in your life. Eventually, the blockage will loosen and whatever it is you’re holding on to will break free, but it might take a great challenge to free it up. Take some inventory of your life and see what you’re clinging to. If you can’t think of something, life will show you, I promise. You’re stuck on something, we all are. It’s very important to evaluate where you have clinging, dependency on things outside of yourself that you resist giving up – money, possessions, circumstances, people, beliefs, the need to be right, etc. A lot of it is there, you just have to think about it and set it free.