Angeles Arrien

New Year Reflection: Staying in the Middle

The New Year heralds the possibility of new opportunities and rekindles the spirit of hope.  It offers us  the opportunity "to do it differently" and to start anew again.  January offers us the possibility of beginning the year with balance or what Pema Chodron calls " staying in the middle", through this excerpt from her book Comfortable with Uncertainty:

"Openness doesn't come from resisting our fears but from getting to know them well.  We can't cultivate fearlessness without compassionate Inquiry into the working of ego.  So we ask ourselves, " What happens when I feel I can't handle what's going on?  What are the stories I tell myself? What repels me and what attracts me? Where do I look for strength and in what do I place my trust? ...  How we stay in the middle between indulging and repressing is key, acknowledging what ever arises without judgment, letting the thoughts simply dissolve and then going back to the openness of this very moment... Up come all these thoughts, but rather than squelch them or obsess with them, we acknowledge them and let them go... after a while, that's how we relate with hope and fear in our daily lives.  Out of nowhere, we stop struggling and relax.  We see our storyline, drop it, and come back to the freshness of the present moment."

 

Monthly Practice:

• Journal on each of these questions:  What happens when I feel I can't handle what is going on?  What are the stories I tell myself about this situation?  What repels me and what attracts me?  Where do I look for strength and in what do I place my trust?
• With every situation presented during the day, practice "staying in the middle" by facing and acknowledging whatever arises without judgment.  What ever is at our gate, we can handle otherwise it would not be there.  Track the blessings and learnings of each day.

Happy New Year!
Angeles
 
 

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