Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye. The way we do one thing is the way we do all things.
So if we go through life habitually hoarding old birthday cards and souvenirs, trinkets, bank statements and receipts, clothes, broken appliances, and old magazines, then we also go through life hanging onto pride, anger, outdated opinions, and fears.
And I'm not necessarily suggesting that there is a problem with having those old yearbooks in the attic or extra cups in your cupboard, and bottles of shampoo around the shower or towels in the linen closet, it's that there is an incredible benefit of letting that stuff go, because then you're exercising the muscle of letting go, instead of the clenching and the clinging. I saw a quote online the other day that said, "Everything I've ever let go of had claw marks in it."
And that's because we tend to dig in so deep, you know, to just cling to it, and there's such an incredible freedom from loosening our grip on it and moving on. It helps us move on from resentments and anger, and jealousy, and everything else, because it's that same muscle. And if we exercise it with the little things, then it becomes much easier later on.
If we're so attached to tangible things, imagine how difficult letting go of opinions must be, let alone opening our minds to new ideas, perspectives, possibilities, and futures. Our beliefs inevitably solidify to be the only truth and reality that we know. And the problem with that is that it puts a greater distance between us and anyone whose beliefs are different from our own, And this distance not only segregates us, but it feeds our pride.
All of this grasping, by the way, it stems from fear. Why are we so terrified of change, strangers, the new, or the unknown? Has the world not continually shown us beauty, sincerity, and love, through every generation? Are we so focused on the darkness that we no longer see or even remember the light? This is like The NeverEnding Story, if you remember it, wherein the minute people stop believing in a reality, it ceases to exist. Love is real, people! And it's all around us.
It vibrates beneath every act of kindness, service, art, and family. And yes, fear is also very real. It permeates every doubt, despair, hesitation, hatred, jealousy, anger, pride, and deceit. So habitually contemplate whether your thoughts stem from love or from fear. If your thoughts originate in love, then follow them. But if they originate from a place of fear, then dig deep to find the root of your fear.
Only then will you be able to finally let go of it so that fear no longer limits your possibilities. There is nothing to complain about, there is no reason to be afraid, and everything is possible if we live FOR one another. As far as I'm concerned, anything not meant to benefit others is simply not worth undertaking. As Shantideva put it, "All the happiness in the world stems from wanting others to be happy, "and all the suffering in the world stems from wanting the self to be happy."
And that's because if we are ego-driven, then we are overlooking so many opportunities to be of-service, which is where true joy lies. And if we are ego-driven, then our point of view, our perspective, is so narrow, that we're eliminating opportunities to learn something new.
And I, of course, take it to the extreme: if somebody tells me that the sky is green, and I believe it to be blue, I don't need to argue with them, I don't need to prove them wrong in order to feel right, or make myself somehow superior by making them inferior. I just walk away from that experience knowing that to some people, the sky looks green. What's the harm in that? In fact, the blueness of my sky is not at all threatened or jeopardized by how green someone else perceives it to be.
I actually walk away more open-minded, but with a better understanding of the world that my truth isn't the Ultimate Truth, it's just my truth. And somebody else, somewhere else, because of their time, place, and circumstance, has a different truth. And the moment that I can be okay with that, is the moment I free myself. And again, that's the same muscle of letting go.
And that's the benefit of letting go of the tangible stuff, because then, we are more ready to let go of this big stuff that really gets in the way. So take inventory of your life, not just your cupboards and closets, but in your heart and in your mind. Is there someone you can forgive? Is there an old opinion or a belief or a judgment that is too heavy on your heart and you would benefit from letting it go? Start with the small stuff, it'll be easier to let go of the big stuff.
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless and Buddhist Boot Camp. For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com, where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project, watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list. We hope you have enjoyed this episode and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions. Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏