Floating

It's amazing what a release of strain it can be to move with the undercurrent of life. Not being swept away by it, not being tossed in opposition to it, but genuinely moving with it.

This is not to say the undercurrent holds only hues of negativity. Strain can follow in the wake of the positive just as well, but often people can become so caught up in the sense of difference from the more easily recognizable negative that they cling to it. Though a relief, this mental and emotional intoxication can also blind and numb the perception of reality that may be necessary for the placement of the next sure step.

The positive and the negative should be able to move in and out of life with the same ease as inhaling and then exhaling. Like breath, these moments are necessary to move forward, to think, to feel, to live. However, if you held onto any of these beyond their necessary purpose, like holding a breath, it can become toxic. 

It's natural to experience each moment, even savor it. The good and the bad offer lessons, reprieve, joy, pain, acknowledgement and reinforcement of existing as a being. So why cling to one for any longer than is necessary? To do so would be to hold it for longer than it may be effective, essentially depriving it as well as you of that initial nourishment. It may also delay or hinder the ability to recognize or  even appreciate the next moment. At its worse, it may even breed fear of its potential loss, when in reality it has already gone. 

There is nothing wrong with loving a moment which brings joy just as there is nothing wrong with surviving through a moment of anguish. But these moments are here and then they are not, and to cling to something beautiful or to something ugly is nothing more than grasping for something solid in an endless sea of emptiness. 

There is understandable fear in letting go of the notion of the need for something for support, for connection, and for stability. Like clinging to the wall of a pool or a floating support in the middle of the water. The fear to sink, to be forgotten, to be overcome by the open expanse around you can bring you to dig your fingernails deeper into anything that offers the ability to float. 

By clinging to these objects, these moments, good or bad, you seek confirmation in the idea of needing something to stay above the water. 

But if all attention and fear is dedicated to these distractions, how will you ever remember that you can swim?