Seize the Moment

This morning I woke up, walked down to an icy cold creek, and jumped in. I did it because it’s a long-standing tradition for counselors at the Buddhist camp I volunteer at every summer.

We wake up before the campers. Tip toe down to the swimming hole. And polar bear.

We do it because it wakes us up, it makes us feel like kids, and it’s not something any of us would normally do. But every year I’ve done this I’m amazed at the lessons it teaches me.

La Resistance

You see the whole time I was walking down to the swimming hole I find myself thinking, “You know I’m an adult, I should know better than this, this is a bad idea, WHY! am I doing this!?!” And yet each time I jump in I feel great.

But even though it feels great there have been times when I haven’t made it in the water. Not because I overslept, or because it seemed unsafe, but because I let that scared resistant mind win out.

You see I’ve learned the longer I wait and the more I hesitate the less likely I am to jump in. And each year
when I’m standing on the edge, staring down into that icy cold stream, I have to remind myself that this is the moment, not for thought or deliberation, but for action.

Your Icy Cold Pool

So today, take a minute and consider what cold icy pool of your life you’re standing at the edge of caught in deliberation. What area of your life has your mind tricked you into believing will be safer if you think a little more. Pause and wonder, why you’re still standing at the edge, when you could already be on the shore feeling the wonderful embrace of a warm damp towel.