As people we thirst for experience.
When we have an experience that feels wonderful, we desire more of it.
This desire is both physical and emotional.
Yet it can lead us into a trap if we are not mindful.
It does not matter what kind of experience it is.
It could be a special relationship.
Or perhaps the thrill of an accomplishment.
Even some extreme sport that brings the adrenaline rushing through our body.
Or maybe some ritual or mystical experience that opens us up to new consciousness.
And the trap is in constantly wanting to repeat or increase the experience.
We desire more and more of it.
To get back to that blissful state.
We become attached to the idea of being there again.
And that is the challenge.
How do we navigate the waters around such strong desires?
How do we learn to cultivate those experiences without chasing after them?
It is not easy.
For the pull we feel to find that feeling or love or joy or bliss can be so strong.
We feel it it not just in our heads and our hearts but in our bones as well.
Just to be with that lover one more time.
To feel the rush of skiing down that gigantic mountain.
And experience the bliss of that deep meditative state.
It all calls to us over and over.
Yet if we chase after those experiences we diminish ourselves in some way.
We feel incomplete and that we are missing something.
And nothing is further from the truth.
Anything that we experience and feel from the outside world is already within us.
The love we felt, the joy and bliss, the thrills and excitement, they are all within us.
Of course we do not have to give up those amazing experiences.
The trick is to enjoy them without being attached to them,
To cherish them and hold them in our heart without rushing to the next one.
Being fully present to where we are, even when we are not in one of those experiences.
Life is not about being in a peak experience all the time.
It is about appreciating those experiences and all the ones in between.
When we learn to stop chasing experiences we can learn to appreciate more of what is right in front of us.
What experience are you chasing? How can you let go of the attachment and still enjoy what life brings to you?
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant