How to make the Rabbit Jump out of the Hat

When I lose my balance, it usually comes from forgetting that life is a sacred dialogue, not just in theory, but in every practical moment.

It comes from forgetting that my primary relationship is with Life itself and that it is a loving one.

Forgetting that "Life" (or God) is not just an abstract theological concept, but the tangible and specific people, beings, things, and places before my eyes.

...That the meeting point for this dialogue was lovingly chosen for me to create the best environment for my growth.

...That there is nothing I truly need that is not accessible to me right now through feeling, owning, and stating my needs.

Sometimes I forget that from this sacred dialogue, I cannot simply erase part of the "words" (things, people...) just because I don't want to hear them. Just because they feel like they should be something else. Just because they collapse my aura in anger, threatening the image I hold of myself. It's temporarily possible but definitely not advisable to ghost Life.

If I want to converse with Life, I need to take in all that is said, not just the parts my personality prefers to hear.

Photo by Rafael Cerqueira on Unsplash

Losing my balance comes from forgetting that the same dialogue will continue no matter where I go, no matter who I'm with. It will feel the same and many times, though in different forms, it will carry the same meaning.

What follows is that the answer to every question arising from my personal experience can be found in my personal experience. There is nothing better out there for us in this moment. If there were, it would be here now. If we had already sorted out what is authentic in the desire, created the inner and outer capacity for it, formulated the specific intent, paid loving attention to the unfolding, we would already be there. If we aren't, then something else is more important right now.

Everyone has the opportunity to engage with what is present here and now so deeply that it transforms into the sparkling vision of our deepest desires right before our eyes.

My favorite example in my own life is the platonic partnership I have with my friend. We've been best friends for over 10 years, and there is rarely a week where we don't talk on the phone or hang out in person.

It is a partnership filled with unconditional love, support, and witnessing of our mutual growth. And... this did not happen by accident.

Like every long-tended relationship, it has taught me a lot about engaging with what is through turmoil, difficult attachment dynamics, loss of appreciation and motivation, estrangement, frustration, and various tragedies. There were multiple points where we could have chosen to move on, find a "better" friend, label the other as toxic or not enough, but we stayed. Committed to each other. Through the years and our individual evolution, our friendship has transformed into something completely unrecognizable. It is a process-being that now looks, feels, and acts absolutely differently. And I would not have believed that I would be capable of having and holding such a friendship back in my young and volatile years full of conflict, gossip, and self-medication.

So now I know for certain: The answer to getting to where I want to be lies in interacting with the people who are already in my life (as long as they are willing to put in some effort as well), in loving my body as it is, in tending to my house regardless of whether I would prefer to live somewhere else, in writing the grocery list for the week, in painting my nails, in drinking my tea, over and over again.

If we truly delve into the depth of what is present now, "being present" is not just about mindfulness to soothe our strained nervous systems; it is belief system-shattering magic, it is the transformation of inner and outer worlds. It is the rabbit jumping right out of the hat.

Yes, there are other versions of me exploring different branches of my decisions in this multiverse. But right here, right now, Life wanted to know itself through this one timeline, living in this house, with these friends, eating these foods, looking at this specific sky.

There is literally no place else to be because all other places are already taken.

When we don't like what we hear, we need to listen more closely.