In the London subway there are numerous reminders to watch out for the space between the train and the platform. Signs are posted, and a voice cautions, “Mind the gap!” Our introspective practice shows us there’s also a gap to leap between the perfect, wrapped-up-with-a-ribbon fantasies we have about our future, and our real daily experience.
You may dream of being an artist. You see plenty of time for creative ecstasy, a stream of grateful students, and enough money flowing in from buyers that you don’t have to waste time selling your offering. In reality you’re an administrative assistant working forty hours a week for an unappreciative boss, eking out scraps of time at night and on weekends to keep the creative spark alive. Exercising caution means not succumbing to fear or frustration, but successfully negotiating the gap. This is creative survival.
Coaching with Yoga
The Bhagavad Gita says, “Thy right is to work only; but never to the fruits thereof.” The karma yoga mindset of doing your best and letting go of results builds a mental environment in which you have freedom to pour energy into the process you love – painting, writing, raising children. Then you release the fruits. It at first feels counter-intuitive to let go of the results of a project invested with your time, thought, and sweat. Consciously facing the fact that you have no ultimate control over what comes back to you frees up mental and emotional space.
Love the minute-by-minute actions of your chosen work. Welcome difficulties as teachers forcing you to learn and stretch. Remember that everything you try to hold onto is constantly moving out of your grasp, including your small self. The universe expands infinitely from a hidden center. You are part of that process. Let yourself feel the paradox of the tremendous thrill of letting go and the security that brings.
Leaping the gap from fantasy to reality gives you the train ride of your life.