Loosen The Grip On Your Life

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“All the greatest treasures are hidden behind that which we wouldn’t want to be with. You’re this ultimate mischief and brilliance. All the wisdom, compassion and treasure is within… so where are you going to hide it?” ~Pamela Wilson

I was going for a bike ride in the park the other day, when I came across a stray dog standing on the side of the path.  When he saw me approaching, he immediately snapped at me, as if he was needing to defend itself from being attacked.  Looking at his scrawny skinny malnourished body, hair balding with bare red skin in certain scratched off patches, I could see that he had quite a rough long life on the streets.  It was apparent that this neglected animal had been abused many times by people (perhaps for no good reason at all in his mind) which pushed him into a deep habit of defending himself from any potential intimate encounter. This brief encounter with this wounded animal touched me in the most intimate ways.

I realized that because this dog had such an intense defensive mechanism, he probably would have to spend the remainder of his life alone, cold through the winters, without his pack or any human to care for him, looking everyday through garbage for a few morsels of food.  It was a very sad thought, then I realized that it was this animals karma to continue “manifesting” this situation until he learned how to relax and stop being so quick to snarl, snap and growl at anyone who got too close to him.  We all have our lessons in life, even animals, and he was being forced by the Universe to learn how to release his tight fearful grip on his life so he could be petted, taken care of, fed and receive love. 

As I continued biking and looking at people’s faces around the park, it became very apparent to me that soooo many people in the world are living their lives in a state very similar to this dog.  Ordinary people like you and me, who were abused at some point in their life journey, and are now spending the rest of their lives hiding behind a tight protective shielded energy.  In their eyes I could see these people were still holding onto their pain, feeling lost, alone, insecure, and trapped in their lives.  They were still reacting to the memory of pain buried in their past.  It is this memory that causes them to live in constant defense mode and attack others so they don’t become abused again by someone in this world.  I wonder what it takes for people to be truly courageous, and stop playing the role of this protective defensive dog, and choose to be cuddled, petted and nourished instead.

Whenever our grip on life is too tight, there’s not enough room for love to enter.  We are living like a tight fist, unable to relax and receive love.  The love can come in many forms.  The form of abundance, a new partner, a warm hug, a new job that you love, motivation to create a fit body, spontaneous healing, or even a deeper trust in your own intuition.  If you take a long deep look at your past, you have most likely been emotionally attacked and wounded in some way like this dog.  If you haven’t healed that part, that wounded you is still gripping with fear, trying to control your experience of life from the inside.  Healing can only occur when you feel this pain, let go of trying to control it, and welcome all the feelings that arise from it.