Fixated hope is ultimately tied to fear. Our freedom lies in our faith to let go.

Have you ever felt that moment of utter helplessness- falling endlessly out of control- when the situation you’ve relied on seems to be coming apart? Our perceived loss of control over ‘what is’, whether it be external or internal, typically evokes the same response of “fear”, and as this strong emotion dominates the whole of our being, our sense of possibility appears to collapse- our vision becomes restricted- and our ‘life force’ arrested.

When hope and fear are bound together, there arises this ‘fixated hope’ that moves us to seek out relief from our suffering in getting what we want- in the precise way we want it. We hope for a particular outcome to arise, and we invariably fear that it won’t happen. Therefore, we shift from hope to fear to hope to fear in an endless loop.

Change and uncertainty are out of our control. How a situation will ultimately turn out cannot always be manipulated to yield the desired outcome. Our sense of faith allows us to relax into this vast space of not knowing- and to the ultimate truth lying outside of our assumptions. Underlying our faith, we see once again, the need to open to our capacity to accept, release, and let go- to allow the moment to arise as it needs to be not what we want it to be. Despite our fear, it is our faith and trust that gives us intimacy with the truth, because we accept the underlying uncertainty of the moment. Here we remain engaged with the realization that we are not fully in control- things will unfold as they are naturally inclined to do.

As we have already seen with a sense of courage, we are to be full of heart if our faith is to avail and we are to move forward in the face of uncertainty openly acknowledging what we cannot control. This does not mean that we don’t make full effort in our endeavors, but that we aspire guided by a more balanced and holistic view of life. In the face of powerlessness, our force of habit often exacerbates our fear as we resist what is unfolding. At our edge or our outer limits, we find faith. Feelings of fear and powerlessness are inevitable arisings on our journey, but they need not break our spirit.

Our inner measure of fear diminishes in power and intensity over our state of mind and state of being as we gain understanding and bolster our support for the unknown. We still may be falling, but our understanding and capacity for letting go becomes the insight and the faith to fall into the cradle of our openness. It is through this fearless openness that we become intimate with the immensity and mystery of life itself.

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