This is the secret – meeting emotions with tenderness instead of resistance. Doing the opposite of what we have been conditioned to do.
Rather than fleeing from the uncomfortable, we can pause and welcome it with curiosity. When we pause, we open ourselves to what is present.
When we welcome what is, we become open and spacious. When we resist, we become tight and constricted. Repressing holds onto the very thing we have an aversion to. Openness creates space for it to pass. Emotions need space to move, transform, and leave the body.
Curiosity shines a light on the unkown. When we shine a light in a dark room, suddenly the room isn’t so scary. We can look around, check under the bed, the closet and be curious about what we find. But when we tip toe around in the dark, anything can frighten us; even an empty room can be so scary that we run the other way.
I invite us to be curious.
Quote: Pema Chödrön from Taking the Leap (page 69)
*This post is for educational purposes only.