Sometimes you have to fall.

I absolutely adore meditation, especially guided meditation. Guided meditation is when you listen to an audio track of someone navigating you through a scenario that your lovely brain gets to imagine.

It's calming and peaceful and after one of those especially sucky days, my secret weapon to feeling better, or at least holding onto my sanity.

One of my favorite meditations is called The Cliff by The Meditation Society of Australia and it's totally free to sign up and get access to some really great meditations.

The Cliff starts out with imagining yourself standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over the ocean as the sun begins to rise. You are safe there. 

Take a minute to really think about that image. 

Let your mind see it in as much detail as possible. The feel of dew dampened grass brushing against your feet. The expansiveness of being so high up with so much space before you and above you. 

The colors that the sun is painting across the sky. The smell of the water and of the earth. The soft sound of bird song and the gentle crashing of the ocean waves. The way the water moves below you. The way the colors of the sky contrast with the water. The way the waves begin to reflect the rising sun. 

Imagine it with all of the power of your imagination. You are there experiencing all of that. 

I don't know about you but just thinking that makes me start breathing more deeply. It makes those little bumps throughout the day soften a little bit. Muscles start to relax and stress begins to fade just a bit.

Now imagine that you step forward, until just one foot is balancing on the cliff with the ocean below you and the sunrise before you. You lean forward and then you fall.

You let yourself fall.

But there is no fear, no worry, just the knowledge that you are safe and that in falling, in trusting, you will learn to soar. 

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned in life is to just let go and trust in God/Universe/Divine/Inner Self. Everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to. Everything will be okay. No matter how far you fall, eventually you gain your bearings. You gain the ability to fly through it.

It's scary to think of letting go of control isn't it? Sometimes you just have to jump off of the metaphorical cliff and enjoy the ride. To let yourself fall and hope that as you reach the water, wings sprout from your back and you begin to soar, to glide, to perfect freedom.

Last week I was having lots of anxiety problems. I would wake up and literally be shaking with anxiety over facing the day. It's a horrible way to wake up and after three days of it, I knew that something had to give. I realized that I was holding on to so much. Expectations and disappointments were piled on my back and they were crushing me. 

I had to let go.

I had to let go of the things that hadn't gone my way and that I could do nothing to fix. I had to stop holding on so tightly to what might or might not happen in the future. I had to stop being responsible for other people's feelings and actions. I just had to let it be. No more holding on. No holding on to anger, or jealousy, or insecurity. It's terrifying to let go, to let everything fall away from you, but to know that everything is going to work out in the end is comforting. It's all about having faith and you just have to have faith that sometimes falling equals freedom.

Take comfort in falling with nothing holding you back.

In moments of panic I close my eyes and do a quick visualization. I picture myself standing on the edge of a cliff. The sun is rising over the ocean, the colors are blossoming over the sky, reflected in the ocean waters and then I step forward and I fall. Nothing follows me, nothing gets to come along for the ride. It's just me and sweet summer air and the wind rushing over every part of me. 

I feel this brilliant sense of freedom. Sometimes I sprout wings at the last moment and start flying over the ocean, other times I slowly sink deep, deep, deep, into the water, where it is safe and warm and I can breathe and just be for a few moments. Floating on the waves, lulling me. 

Bringing me back into myself.

I always feel better afterward. So I ask you to listen to the meditation, close your eyes, and let go of your troubles and your worries, if only for a few minutes.

The Green Meditation from Green Please on Vimeo.

Ahhhh, doesn't that feel better?