Change is the only constant

In a world in constant flux, the human mind longs for stability and clarity. The intellect struggles to accept that endless change is inevitable, ubiquitous, and eternal. All one can do is to go along and learn to change with the changing world.

Going through a traumatic experience, such as losing a job, an important relationship or one’s health shakes the very foundation of our existence and sets us, with an even-greater urgency, on a quest to rebuild the lost sense of stability and security. People strive for security by building reserves of wealth, sustained success, and health. But, the certainty that the possibility of having all our ducks in a row is not only elusive but also the satisfaction from it is fleeting.

The soul yearns for reassurance that transcends circumstances and takes one beyond the agitations that our perception generate and doubts of the mind. Smart logic and intellectual answers don’t cut it. It must also reassure the uneasiness in the heart.

Slow down

We must begin with efforts to slow down the mind if it is rushing from one thought to another. With a nagging urge to do something all the time, it is incredibly hard to be still and silent, even briefly. If we could take a few moments to slow down and breathe gently, we might be able to permit ourselves the spacious silence that lets us recreate inner ease and reconnect with the comforting gentleness in our heart.

Surrender control

Release the urgency to figure it all out. Suspend the need to work everything out right away. Instead, settle down in the quiet reassurance of the heart that is beyond the comprehension of logic and intellect.

Try this — slow down, sit calmly, and take some gentle, easeful, and spacious breaths deep into your heart. Keep your mental focus in the zone of your heart and breathe. It helps to imagine that your heart-centred breathing is energizing the heart. Gentle, spacious, and slow breathing will ease away your anxiety. Permit yourself some inner silence and stillness. Allow yourself to feel any inner urge that rises to disturb this stillness, but do not act on it. Instead, give it your spacious attention. Let the gentle breath and the light of the heart heal it away. Settle down into a comforting space in your heart.

This is the way of the heart

Let go of the need for certainty and let in the acceptance that life is ever-changing. Find comfort in the present moment, and just respond just to what is here now. If we can release the need to bring predictability to every aspect of life, we may be able to let go of the tiresome urge to control and place our trust in the gentle unfolding of the universe’s plan, which can neither be forced nor rushed. Let yourself be guided into the future that is emerging. Cooperating with the future is where certainty lies, and the way to access it is through the heart.

By letting yourself descend into the gentle comfort of your heart, you can find certainty in the depths of your soul. That is where you can discover your purpose, which gives meaning to your work, a sense of belonging, and a connection to something greater than yourself. Letting go of control does not take you away from the action. Instead, you learn to cooperate with the emerging, inevitable future and work with its new possibilities, towards an easeful life that is in alignment with your deepest desires and your soul’s purpose.