20211203 - Non - Striving

A little something about **Non-striving**, one of the seven attitudes of mindfulness as described by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I find myself leaning forward a lot of the time. I feel my weight more towards the front of my feet than flat across the whole sole. Is it the same for you? The energy in that posture is a "going somewhere"; Forward, onwards, to the next thing, to the result, to the end of whatever is happening Now. I associate it with progress. It feels active, energetic, important and busy. Always on the fly towards something new and exciting or perhaps the reward of a job well done or whatever it is. In the west we have a culture that values progress A LOT so it feel really good to be in this energy to be honest. And there is another side of the coin. Going somewehere also means moving away from something else. In trying to get to another state, inherently we move away from *what is here already*. Non-striving is about putting the posture of achieving, fixing, doing and progressing to the send. Taking a break from all of that and letting things just be as they are. Letting things be held in awareness without having to operate on them. Letting go of the agenda. Not trying to get to happiness or relaxation or well-being. **We are not human Doings, we are human Beings. Non-striving is about just Being.** This does not mean we will not do anything. Paradoxically, when we stop doing and move more into Being, the doing that arises comes from a deeper place withing which is inherently more wise and loving. Doing is bad or wrong, we have just mistaken from where the doing happens.