Hey there,
Let's take a deep breath in and let it go.
One more time,
Inhale and exhale.
Just a fair warning,
This meditation is a bit salty.
I was at an aquarium recently,
And after oohing and aahing at the electric eel and the playful otter,
I moved on to a tank that held stingrays.
They sailed by like kites,
And they were joined by two sharks that were about the size of my leg.
It took me a while to notice.
The slightly smaller shark had attached itself to the right fin of the larger shark,
And the more I looked,
The more I couldn't tell if it was attacking the other shark or not.
Every once in a while,
The bigger shark would start to swim,
And it would literally drag the other shark along,
Who stayed clamped on its right fin and wouldn't let go.
Sometimes when the bigger shark would rest,
The little one would twist and turn,
All while holding on.
To say I was disturbed is an understatement.
I wanted to start banging on the glass and tell the little shark to knock it off,
To let go and mind its own business.
I wanted to find whatever 17-year-old was in charge of this exhibit and tell them to do something.
Finally,
The people I was with dragged me away.
The more I thought about that moment,
The more I realized sometimes we allow thoughts to sink their teeth into us.
They are always there,
Gnawing and sometimes twisting,
While we do our best to go about our daily lives.
Can you think of thoughts like that?
The ones that tear into you and drag you down?
And if you can,
Oh my god,
Isn't this something we all need to recognize and stop?
What if we ask our bigger self,
That wise,
Compassionate self that lives in the center of our being,
What if we ask that self,
Can you step in?
Can you unhook these teeth that are sunk deep into my tender self?
What if we say I'm finally ready to let go of this so I can be free?
I know the true self in each of us would love to make that happen.
Just like I know those barbed thoughts are wily little fuckers,
So they're gonna do their damnedest to reattach and twist and turn.
And that's why we are here,
In this space,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Because we want to notice those thoughts,
See them for what they are,
The teeth digging into our tender selves.
And we want to do something different.
So know you are okay.
You have a deep and wise center and hold on to that center whenever you try and meet the thing with teeth.
And from your deep and wise center,
Say no,
No,
No.
I do not want to live my life with your teeth tearing at me.
No,
I do not want to feel dragged down every minute of every day.
I choose to free myself.
And you can say I'll try and do that gently,
But if it doesn't work,
I'm gonna clobber the fuck out of you,
You little fucking teeth.
So let me go.
This isn't gonna be a one and done.
Those teeth are gonna come back.
And so we do this again and again.
Each time we enter into that shark tank,
Know you are feck and fierce.
You've got this.
You can be free.
Just move from your deep and wise center.
Unhook the teeth so you can be free and live.
