TO HOLD NOTHING BACK

“To hold nothing back in every breath is a spiritual practice.”

~ Anonymous

For forty-nine years I have found that hesitation, more than anything, has been the invisible hitch that has kept me from joy. I’ve found that the moment with all its meaning often moves on by the time I’ve reconsidered whether or not to enter it. I am not saying we should always be impulsive. More to the point, I have discovered, again and again, that I usually know what I need to do but just deny it, and it is this small hesitation, this small resistance to enter what is real, that makes life feel neutral or out of reach.

To hold nothing back in every breath means staying committed to letting whatever we experience make its way in and letting whatever is in make its way out. Holding nothing back means holding the intention to be an open vessel, in a daily way.

Simply and profoundly, our very breath can serve as a reminder that life is only possible if the exchange of inner and outer is undisturbed. Letting things in, feeling their impact, and, in turn, letting things out, expressing cleanly what we feel, is a spiritual practice that rinses the mind and heart.

~ Meditate on a glass of water.

~ When feeling centered, drink the water slowly without hesitation.

~ Exhale deeply and say softly to yourself: I will hold nothing back in my effort to live. I will not hesitate to be.

The Book of Awakening

~ Mark Nepo