𝘾 𝙖 𝙡 𝙢 🌼 A Pocket Guide To Breathe Easy

something consumes me, and I cannot shake it

The problem.

Something that I want, something that I don't want; something that I fear, something I love; something that I miss, something that I never had; it consumes me. Something consumes me, and I cannot shake it.

The Zen understanding.

It happens to all of us. We become obsessed with something. If you are obsessed with something you love, you want more and more of it. If you are obsessed with something you hate, you want less and less of it. Either way, the result is a lack of contentment, because you will always want more or less of your obsession.

Think of this obsession like a flower that you find too beautiful to let go of. Holding it in both of your hands, this flower is now your life.

This is not healthy; so despite it being too beautiful, you must let it go.

The Zen application.

Letting go is not something you do all at once. After all, the flower is too beautiful to let go. So you let go one petal at a time.

Your flower might have hundreds or thousands of petals. You might be carrying your obsession a long time. However, if you continue to practice letting go of it, eventually all the petals will be gone, and you will wonder why you were ever obsessed to begin with. Why would you have obsessed over something that is empty like this stem?

Practice letting go right now, and again later, and again after that. If something is consuming you, tell yourself, "this does not matter. If it disappears or never came back, so be it." 

And one day, whatever you obsess over will disappear. In fact, whatever you obsess over is disappearing this very moment, as it changes (grows or decays) ever so slightly. This is not sad. After all, if something never truly is, then that something never truly was or will be. 

With freed hands, you can find contentment with whatever you can touch for now, in this present moment.