In session this week and in my personal life the imagery and significance of water has come up and I was reminded of a favorite quote: “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.” -Alan Watts
I feel all around me a grasping, a clinging, a desperation. It is painful to watch and feel. The energy of it is exhaustive and heightened. I, too, feel pulled in. Perhaps this is where the visualization of water brought with it a sense of calming and letting go. As Watts says, if you grasp and hold you will sink. Instead, when you soften, relax, and have the faith to float, the experience can be one of surrender and acquiescence. The challenges of today won't go away and the uncertainty in that can lead us to want to tighten and cling, but those responses do not bring us closer to a place of ease and acceptance. Can we have faith in the promises of all that life has to offer today? In this moment, can we choose to feel everything without resistance? Without grasping for an alternate experience? In doing so, you may notice discomfort, dismay, and concern coming up. If you do, give yourself compassion and understanding around that pain. However, once we begin to feel all emotions, we find ourselves disengaging from the fight to keep feelings suppressed. This in turn opens us up to a softer way of being and allows for peace to be made with the challenges of life. With faith and acceptance you can allow yourself to float towards what is most important to you.
#water#float