The Wisdom of Letting Go
Everyone must have experienced this situation, the more you try to grasp something, the further away it gets. The object of our grasping might be a better job, a person that you love or that you wish would love you, or a dream that you want to come true. In this talk, Khenpo explains the wisdom of letting it go.
There is a story that says that there was once a man who could not swim, but who fell into deep water. He struggled desperately, and all the while that he was sinking deeper and deeper, he said to himself, “It seems there is no hope, so I should just wait to die.” So, he let go of the tension in all of his limbs and at that point, his body floated up to the top of the water, bringing him out of danger.
I think that this is a good story to remind us that our life is in some meaningful ways, very similar to this. Some people desperately grasp and pursue status and fame, but the more they pursue these things, the more pain they feel. In the end, they achieve very little actual success. As an example, some people cling to relationships. However, the more they want to bring the other person closer to them, the farther away that person retreats. In the same way, some people are especially attached to money, but the more they want it, the less they get. But once we let go and accept a condition as it is, we will pursue our desires in such a way that, while we feel that it would be good if we get it, if we don’t, we can just let it be. By doing things in this way, many opportunities come naturally.
