HOLDING OUT

“Throughout all the ten regions of the Universe there is no place where the Source is not.”
~ Hakuin

There’s an old story about a young man who’s freezing on the side of the road in Alaska. He’s hitching a ride to Miami. He’s so cold he can barely hold up his handmade sign. After a long wait, a friendly trucker stops and says, “I’m not going to Miami, but I’m going as far as Fort Lauderdale.”

Dejectedly, the young man says, “Oh,” and turns the ride down.

This is a folk myth of our modern culture that warns us against our want for perfection. How often do we refuse our fate under the guise of holding out for the right thing? How often do we turn down the path presented like a gift because it’s not exactly what we’re dreaming of? How often do we hold out for the perfect partner, for the perfect job, the perfect house? How often do we martyr ourselves to some imagined ideal?

How often do we lose sight of what we’re really after, insisting on all or nothing, when there is so much abundance wherever we are and so many opportunities that can help us on our way?

~ Sit outside, if you can, and watch the clouds. Search for a cloud that looks like a horse. Whether you find one or not, note what searching-for-one-thing feels like.

~ Close your eyes and breathe evenly. Once centered, open your eyes and look to the same clouds. Choose one that compels you, and see what shape is waiting in it.

~ Whatever you find, note what finding-what-is-there feels like.

The Book of Awakening

~ Mark Nepo