5 Don't for 2022

“It’s important to let go so we can make room for what’s important.” I came across this quote from a book called Love People, Use Things. It describes the liberating activity of clearing the junk from our room or house. It then moves on to exploring what’s important to keep and value.

It made me think about all the subtle junk we carry around. What would be good to let go, to remove from our consciousness and our tendency to live with? Each one of us will have our own list, but I came up with this as a starting point.

1. Don’t think we know it all - there is nothing worse for spiritual advancement, or for any meaningful living of life. Along with this goes our insatiable need to be right. So many relationships have been ruined by this ‘being right’. Who cares? Instead be curious, be interested, and be eager to learn. When we can have this mood in our relationships, we will find lots of room in our heart for bhakti.

2. Don't worry if you fall off the cart - we all struggle with aspects of our life, both in our spiritual practice and living the teachings. We fall short. We make mistakes. We cheat. The main thing is to get back up and keep going, knowing we can and should be doing better. It’s a balance between giving ourselves a pat on the head and a kick in the behind.

3. Don’t stay in the victim mode too long - so, someone hurt or offended us in some way. We feel the bruise on our false ego. We feel the pain. But nursing our wounds too long can turn them into resentments and then the bitterness builds in our system. Life is way too short for staying there. It may take time, but consciously work to let go, forgive, and forget. Otherwise, this subtle junk can get toxic and hurt us even more.

4. Don’t be afraid to fail - failure in our friend in so many ways. We will fail, sooner or later, in big and small ways. I’m not talking about not being careful, but rather doing our best, making our decisions, and depending on Krishna. We are not perfect, and failure makes that really obvious. Learn to laugh and love it when it arrives, and work to repair or heal the damage done right away. When we can make peace with our failures, we can help others through theirs too.

5. Don’t ever feel alone - because we ultimately are not. Krishna lives in our heart, for real, and we can connect with Him there. When we find ourselves in those moments of aloneness, we can put our hand on our heart and know that the source of our life is there. Fully present and fully with us if we turn to Him. What a treasure we have within!