The only thing that’s worked.

The only thing that’s worked for me is to have the intention to feel better.

It’s the only thing that has consistently improved my circumstances and helped me find alignment again and again.

Looking for answers just brings me more questions. Making an effort just wears me down, but the simple and modest intent to feel better is so consistent, to me it’s magic.

Today brought a new kind of challenge I haven’t encountered before. Or at least not in many years.

It’s so different I’ve been nonplussed, scrambling for an appropriate response.

It took me hours to realise this is just another form of contrast, and that there’s only ever one single answer:

Feel better.

There’s nothing so big or terrifying or strange that my humble intent to feel better can’t heal it.

I used to love the ideal of wisdom like a sword, the sword of truth, the sword of Manjusri, cutting through all ignorance and delusion.

But this is more like hanging clothes out to dry on a mild day, or keeping hydrated, or remembering to go outside for some fresh air.

It’s like giving up on a problem, genuinely not caring, and then the answer comes to you while you’re washing the dishes.

So keep in intending to feel better, and know that it’s enough. Sit with whatever you’ve got going on, add your intent to feel better in that moment, and feel the tiny movement of relief.

Keep doing that, keep intending that relief, that better feeling moment by moment. Big things and small things will come up and pass by. You’ll forget to feel better but that’s okay. Pick it up as soon as you remember.

Not only is this contrast going to pass, it’s going to bring great transformation and change in its wake. By this time tomorrow everything will feel subtly improved again, as another piece of resistance falls away.