Throughout my life, I would never be someone anyone could look at and say "he is easy going”. I always wanted things done my way, and I could never easily accept a changing circumstance if my heart was set on it being a particular way. This made living a very difficult and unenjoyable process. In fact, I hated living. I absolutely hated it.
I always envied people who were easy going and were able to accept situations and adapt. I could see they always seemed to be happier than most, but I could never understand why. How could they find life so easy when I just found it so hard?
As the years went by, I became more entombed in this way of thinking, until I became unbearable to be around. I would spit the dummy like a child, even in my 20s and 30s, and I would attack people who didn’t agree with me and do the things I wanted to do. I was like a fully grown baby! Even thinking of it now makes me deeply cringe. I ruined many good friendships and relationships because of this.
I was truly one track minded. The direction of my life was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I could see my future unfold before my eyes, and just like the present, I absolutely hated it. I saw no way out. You can imagine all the dark types of thoughts that would have crossed my mind, and I’d rather not go into them. I’d rather not talk about the overwhelming sense of hopelessness and futility. I’d rather talk about the hope I've now found.
And that hope came in the form of learning how to let go. When you learn how to let go, you just learn to go with the flow. When you give up and surrender your way of thinking, the world becomes an incredibly miraculous place. The gifts of every day life….. The happiness, the joy, the excitement, the thrill of living - it’s overwhelming! Life is no longer a dark and hopeless place, repeating the same patterns over and over again – each day is like another gift. I know it might sound a little corny, particularly if you’re a sceptic (like I was), but this is truly how it is!
When you learn to go with the flow, you’re not living in a state of expectations, you’re living a fluid and seamless state – a flow state. Just think for a moment. I’ll bet you can think of a night out, or an event, or any kind of a day where you had little to no expectations, and it turned out to be an amazing time, right? Almost a thrill – better than watching your favourite movie or reading your favourite book for the first time and having your mind blown wide open. Why? Because when you live with expectations, you’re living bound to the past, trapped in your own mind world.
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