“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau

Retrograde, solar flares, blue moons and the vernal equinox. Perhaps we’re all just a little out of sorts, or are we?

Regardless of the cosmos’ perfectly erratic behavior, life can slap the shit out of us sometimes.

And…

We all need a little encouragement now and again.

We all need a rock…

Sometimes, nothing seems to ever go right. Often, everything seems wrong, as if anything we try ends up making our lives worse. When each decision we make seems to drag us even further into the pit, subtle reminders of simplicity can help.

It is in the simplest thought that our mind may rest easy, regain ground and move forward, here in a sphere of total uncertainty.

To put it simply, no matter what you’ve got going on in your life, what your plans are, or even if you have no plan and are feeling completely lost. Here’s some good news.

None of us really know what we’re doing anyway.

But it comes in waves, these feelings of desperation, hopelessness and that feeling of time running out. Or, even that feeling where we think we don’t have it in us to move on any longer. Time to throw in the towel. Time to check out permanently.

It is in our impermanence here that we may rest our tired minds and look upon the greatest truth of all.

We have no expiration date. It could be now. It could be tomorrow or it could be 47 years from now. It is of little use to worry when we embrace the precipice of our own departure.

Bruce Lee once said to “free your ambitious mind, and learn the art of dying.” In this simple thought we can become free to live in a splendid, continuous moment that is ever evolving, ever moving and ever infinite.

It is in this moment that we become aware. Our consciousness no longer grabs hold and clings to the object of desire, to the object of ambition, or to any object of the finite, for it is in this moment where we become lucid of the infinite.

When we embrace our own death, we embrace our present existence.

When we do not fear tomorrow, we will not fear today. When we no longer lament for yesterday, we are free to live here, now; the place we’ve always been.

True, our trials build our character and our triumphs fill us with pride. And worrying about tomorrow may give us a momentary sense of direction. But we are not our accomplishments and we are not our failures. And we are certainly not our worries. We are simply the awareness that clings to them.

But we don’t have to be.

Be aware that we are always on the path that we’ve chosen. Whether your path is broken and full of obstacles or clear and full of sunlight matters little.

Choose to be aware of the step you’re taking now, in this moment.

Choose to be aware of the beauty that surrounds your heart, now, in this moment.

Even if this beauty is the thought of your child smiling, or the feeling you get when a person you care deeply for sends you a text. This is all part of the beauty that surrounds your heart.

Realize this, and you will realize it’s always been there, never fleeting, never moving.

Always there.

Your heart is your rock.

Embrace it.