“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself—and there isn’t one.” ― Wei Wu Wei  

You want to be happy, to not feel foolish, to feel included and loved. It is only natural to feel that way. What isn’t organic is not feeling what you feel, avoiding it, projecting it, disguising it. Those are the territory of a separate self, the made-up version you were told is the real you.

If you look, you’ll see that resisting life isn’t attuned with the natural flow. It rejects life, throwing the moment away in an attempt to not feel so damn bad.

Understandable, but such bad advice. What’s wrong with intense feelings, sad feelings, mad feelings? 

You think life is supposed to be all good, all warm and fuzzy and anything that doesn’t fit the bill means something’s wrong, that someone did something they shouldn’t have, or that you failed. Or maybe … that life’s just a snooty bitch. 

What if it’s all wrong? What if the awkwardness, the pain and anxiety you feel, are pointing you back to the one who is so desperately trying not to feel? What if all that is required is to stop, to experience what’s here, to have your life and let your life have you.

Avoiding pain doesn’t make the pain go away. It doesn’t stop you from feeling pain. You just feel a different pain — the pain of avoidance, the pain of rejection, the pain of projection, the loss of courage, the loss of inclusion, the loss of others.

You can’t avoid feeling. You are feeling. You are simple experiencing. You can feel yourself running from life or you can feel life. Either way, you feel.

Be honest. Has running from life ever made life better? Has it ever made you happy? Has it ever brought you love and peace and contentment?

I’m guessing not. When you run from life it leaves a mark on you.

Stay and play or run. Every moment liberation is at hand for each breath is the invitation to feel life as it is, and in the feeling, life reveals itself, shows you the truth of what you really are … or you can run and delay the grand unveiling … a bit. Hide ‘n Seek is fun too. Either way, you are still the aliveness even when you don’t feel it.

Eventually though, you will run into a dead end, be it the day you take your last breath or while you are still in this precious body. You might as well stop now. You can’t run forever.