Start going there.
“Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?” - Khalil Gibran
The problem is, we think we have time. Time to become happier, time to one day learn to see the beauty in every moment. Time to finally follow your true calling. But as Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche plainly states:
“Your head now lies on the chopping block and he raises the ax. Just before he strikes, someone comes up to you and says, ‘I would like to present you with a magnificent palace, luxuries and glorious experiences’. How would you feel?”
Whether or not you live vibrantly, passionately, mindfully for the next month - the next month will pass by. Whether or not you help direct the course of your life, your life will find a course.
Any fear of the unknown, or as Khalil Gibran says, death, is simply being mindful of the wrong thing. It’s certainly okay to be weary of stepping into uncharted territory, but the unknown is where the transcendent resides. All the mystery, all the potential of who you could become waits for you there. There’s no doubt it’s scary, when you take a step you start to fall. Which is why we grab so tightly to who we think we are - we think it will stop the falling. But the Buddhist’s saw that all there is to the discomfort is holding on - and once you let go you don’t fall, you start to fly.
“Let that thought rise and settle, without any constraint. Don’t grasp at it, feed it, or indulge it; don’t cling to it and don’t try to solidify it. Neither follow thoughts nor invite them; be like the ocean, looking at its own waves” - Sogyal Rinpoche
But we all love to grasp and to cling. Especially to comfort.
“Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral” -Khalil Gibran
Don’t be murdered by comfort. Don’t let it convince you that it can’t be done. You fear the unknown when you forget that it’s what makes everything possible. The spontaneous arising of every moment, seemingly out of nothing, is magic. When you were a child you saw it, isn’t that why kids giggle all the time? Existence is tickling them - and its worthwhile to remember what used to make you laugh.
“I think that one of these days, you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there. But immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you” – J.D. Salinger
The way you see thing, hear things, think about things - is a unique event in the history of the universe that will never come again. Please, share some of it.
“No such thing as spare time, no such thing as free time, no such thing as down time. All you got is life time.” – Henry Rollins
All you got is life time. Ready, set, go.
It is as it is.
-Sasha