When you consider all of the things that you desire; from relationships to abundance, from faith to freedom, from possessions to passion, how do you hold them?  What I mean by that is this:  do you hold them with a closed fist; grasping, clinging as if for dear life or can you let go a bit and allow them to enter your life? Consider this metaphor:  If you were to scoop up water or sand in your hand and attempt to keep them by closing your fingers around the substances, what would happen?  Of course, they would slip right on through. You would be left with a few grains of sand and a few droplets of water.

There is a legend about monkeys being captured when a container of peanuts was placed before them. They would plunge their hands in and close around the treats. Because they couldn’t remove the nuts or their closed hand, they were trapped. It hadn’t occurred to them that all they needed to do was let go and they would be free. We humans are equally blind at times to the option to let go, rather than grasping.

I think about maintaining my steadfast beliefs about ‘the right way’ to do things and the ‘best’ behavior that people ‘should’ exhibit to be acceptable. Of course, in my infinite wisdom, I believe that in order for all to be right with the world, it oughta be that way. I would venture a guess that you feel the same about your values.

A few years ago, I heard Lisa Nichols speak about the concept of “Attract, don’t pursue.”  What she was wanting us to really get was that when we surrender to The Universe, what we want and welcome has a direct route to us. Paradoxically, the more we effort and strain, the more we block our good from coming. I have seen evidence of that on so many occasions, that I have to believe it is so.

There are still many items on my ‘bucket list’ and yet, at least for this moment, I am not attached to experiencing them. I am willing to let go of some of the peanuts, so that I can enjoy the yummy crunchiness of a few, rather than risk losing them all, and my freedom by holding them in a closed fist. I am willing to hold life and love with an open hand.