THE WHEEL OF LIFE
The surprise of the unexpected becomes the wonder of what is
becomes the opportunity to influence
what is coming to be.
The Wheel of Life
The wheel turns on its own. There is no predicting and controlling what is about to happen. Control of the next moment is an illusion. The surprise is essential to reality. There is no knowing what comes next.
The wisdom of uncertainty is in the gift of emotion. Feelings are a surprise: they show up with a life of their own. They inform the importance of what is happening – and what is about to happen. I experience my power when I’m aware of what I’m feeling as an opportunity for choice. My intentionality guides the energy in my feelings and influences what is coming to be.
However clear my intention, what happens next remains a surprise. My readiness for what shows up keeps me open to the flow, participating in the movement that is turning the wheel.
My resistance to the unexpected blocks my feelings, and obstructs the flow that turns the wheel. The resulting backlog of energy is experienced as anxiety. I have unfinished business that requires attention. The longer I ignore it, the more likely something is about to go wrong. The attempt to escape this discomfort by seizing control simply postpones and inflates the inevitable loss of control that is already happening.
The past remains present until I feel the truth of it, in my body. Whether accumulated through resistance or overload, the unexperienced energy is stored in the body. There it rustles, calling for awareness and choice, pushing at the wheel. Discipline is required if I am to regularly relieve the backlog, learn from it, and become ever more ready for the next surprise.
Each recurrently unexpected feeling turns the wheel of life. Pain reveals what is dying or needs to die. Pleasure unveils every spark of new life. My life is carried through its ups and down by the feelings that come and go. As I let go in the pain, and engage in the pleasure, my developmental progress happens: I learn how to have more pleasure and less pain in the long run. I grow in emotional wisdom.
May I let go of the illusion of control.
May I discover the courage to release my pain as I feel it,
so that it may pass.
May I be blessed with the equanimity to engage the pleasure I feel
In a way that allows it to last.
May I learn to flow with the wheel
as it turns out
my new life.
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