Letting Go
Posted on June 18th, 2010 by admin in Kettlebell Training, Nutrition, The Warrior's PathI recently listened to a great presentation by Richard Rohr, entitled “The Art of Letting Go.” At the same time, I have been waiting for the right opportunity to read a highly recommended book by Dan John, entitle “Never Let Go.” Both sat together on the front passanger seat of my car for over week. It wasn’t until this morning that I recognized the paradox.
“The Art of Letting Go” is a wonderful discussion of Saint Francis and the wisdom with which he lived his life. The overriding message is refreshing and heartwarming, especially coming from a modern Catholic priest. One great tidbit that I will share with you has to do with letting go of the conditioned patterns with which we live our lives. There is a fine line between treating yourself and overindulgence. There is a great moment in the old television series, “Twin Peaks”, where agent Cooper shares the importance of always doing something nice for yourself every day. He says that every day he buys himself a gift. It’s not always something big, it could simply be a good cup of coffee and a tasty piece of pie. That bit of advice stayed with me for a long time and helped me justify the daily splurge at Starbucks. However, as important loving kindness is to ourselves and others, this simple act can become a conditioned pattern. Perhaps, you reach the point where you can’t live without it. Maybe your happiness depends upon it. If you don’t get your morning cup of coffee, you are miserable and you make everyone around you miserable. It occurred to me today that skipping that cup of coffee may be a good thing. Letting go of that conditioned pattern, that habit, might actual be an opportunity to help myself. While not having that coffee in the morning might feel like you are torturing yourself. Maybe you feel like you are really losing out or even dying. However, it you can sit with the discomfort and not call it bad. Rather than seeking peace and happiness through a nice cup of coffee, perhaps the act of not indulging can put you in touch with your true self. If you can abide in the experience of wanting and not having, at some point the veil will lift. You can be happy without it! Material possessions, gifts, little treats, etc…. are not essential to your happiness. Try it and find out. The true you can be happy now. It requires no expenditure.
On a nutritional level, you can also do by not doing. The Warrior Diet is a great example of not indulging and reaping great rewards. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. It can be a spiritual experience.
