I was struggling with something. It was getting to me and getting me down. Mostly it was getting me down because I thought I “should be over it” already. That others would look at me and think, as I was, “Why aren’t you over it already???”

Someone I love reminded me about my mindfulness practice. About meditating with Tara Brach.

One of my truths is that when things finally get too much and too hard, I will – after perhaps exhausting ALL other ways of handling things – give in and let go. And sit myself down (or lay myself down, as I think I did that day), and breathe and focus and be.

I quieted with a guided Tara Brach meditation, and she reminded me to “let life be just as it is.”

I know it’s old stinking-thinking to think that things are “wrong” and that it’s my full responsibility to make things okay. It’s old; it’s stinking thinking; it’s actually “the cult talking;” and I still can get caught there.

But “let life be just as it is” is a wonderful reminder and salve.

I learned in Al-Anon years ago that “there is no such thing as perfection” and “the present is perfect, just as it is.” These two thoughts seem contradictory, but like so much of my life, their duality and seemingly opposite-ness is what makes them so powerful. (Well, that and the fact that they’re the complete antithesis of what I was taught in my cult.)

As soon as I remembered to “let life be just as it is” (and then re-remembered again, when I stepped back into old behaviors), the thing I was struggling with got easier. Well, I don’t know that it definitely got easier, but I was less thrown and thrown down by it. Which, of course, made it easier.

Whether or not now seems perfect to me, there is actually very little I can do about anything other than myself…and what I think and do. Maybe how I feel.

When I let life be just as it is, and I let me be just as I am (while still somewhat aiming for my “best self” – which can ALWAYS be defined by my heart-led, love-led self), I am eased. Life is eased. And love is easier.

So, for today, for right now, I’m just letting things be just as they are. 🙂

I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this post with others if it resonates with you!