Life is Good
Have you ever seen toddlers practicing their first steps, wobbling from one caregiver to another who are ready to jump to catch them if they start to fall? Did you notice how confident they are making their attempt at mastering what was once impossible? What is the source of their confidence?
Trust.
They rely on their caregivers. If they fall, it is okay. If they manage to stay on their feet, it is okay too. They don’t get distracted trying to predict the outcome of their next action, which could be a successful step or a fall. Instead, they immerse themselves in practicing without controlling external factors or assessing what is next.
We look for trust in our relationships – in an expanding social circle from primary caregivers to friends, extended families, colleagues, employers and communities as we grow up. Trust brings safety, acceptance and freedom for authentic experience.
In the article, Love as a Verb we explored our deepest need – love. We also outlined the key ingredients for loving, the five A’s: Attention, Acceptance, Appreciation, Affection and Allowing. Our desire is not for intermittent love but uninterrupted, unconditional love. Self-love – love within us – is without a beginning, without an ending. What is it that bridges the valleys between waning love experiences?
Trust.
We cannot attain the first A – Attention – without trust. How can we pay attention to our inner voice in our self-love practice if we don’t trust it? We cannot allow ourselves to live our authentic selves without any control or manipulation as we discussed in the fifth A, without trusting ourselves.
But is it possible, really, to believe that we will be alright no matter what happens, no matter what conditions we are in, or no matter what decisions we make? Can we believe that we will figure it out?
How could we live an authentic life if we worry about the outcome of our actions and decisions all the time?
Let us start with loosening up our controls in our lives and shifting our focus from outcome to process. Let us trust ourselves in the moment without a past, without a future. As the brothers Bert and John Jacob summarized their optimism in three words: Life is Good.
