In every moment, you and I and everyone and everything else – from quantum foam to fleeting thoughts, intimate relationships, rainforest ecosystems, and the stars themselves – are each a kind of standing wave, like the ever-changing through a persistent pattern of water rising above a boulder in a river.
We are the result of multiple causes flowing through us. As Buckminster Fuller famously said, “I seem to be a verb.”
This fact is amazing, but both modern physics and deep ecology corroborate it. We can get silly-cosmic about it (done this myself – not only as a college sophomore!), but the implications are very down-to-earth.
As unique standing waves, you and I are constructed each moment by the currents – the forces and factors, both internal and external – flowing through us. We have no choice about being lived by these currents, continually given over to them.
But we can choose to give ourselves over to the good ones.
By “good,” I mean that which leads to happiness and benefit for you and others; “bad” means the opposite. (Of course, honesty about what is actually turning out to be truly good is important; history holds many cautionary tales about people giving themselves over to things they thought were good – e.g., Nazism – but weren’t.)
Giving over to good means relaxing into, opening to, being buoyed and guided by things like your own naturally good heart, the impulse to take the high road, love, compassion, vitality, courage, the longing for justice, and the wisdom and support of good friends.
The Practice.
There are two steps: knowing what the “good” is for you and then giving yourself over to it.
So, first step: what’s the good that would serve you to give yourself over to these days? In your mind, on paper, or talking with a friend, make a list for yourself. Probably it won’t be long. Listen to your inner knowing of what the good is for you. If appropriate, be open to counsel from others (e.g., parents, friends, therapist, I Ching, prayer), but don’t let anyone push their view on you.
Your list might include self-nurturance, the peacefulness of nature, more self-expression, a long-deferred dream, sobriety, inner strength, certain health practices, meditation, the needs of your temperament, the simple truth that a particular job/career/relationship is not right for you, or the wisdom of your body that knows when it’s full and needs no more food for now.
For what it’s worth, these “goods” have been important for me personally to give over to lately: the need for true down-time . . . self-soothing . . . the love and loyalty of friends . . . an underlying deeply peaceful sense of truly being nothing but a standing wave and that’s alright . . .
Next, the second step: pick one of the good currents you’ve identified and open to it in your mind and body. Relaxing, receiving, surrendering to it . . . notice how this feels. Try to find pleasure, ease, and comfort in this current. Notice any reluctance to be carried by this force for good in your life, and then see if you can let that reluctance pass away.
Imagine letting this good live you . . . what would that be like? What might change for the better – for you and others? Let the impact of those positive changes land in your mind; let yourself sense their rewards; let yourself become more motivated to lean toward them.
Then, for the next minute, hour, or day, focus on this one good thing and give yourself over to it. In effect, “willpower” becomes redefined as yielding: surrender to the best within you and around you.
Let this good be your guiding principle, your North Star. Let it be what gets you out of bed in the morning, fills you, breathes you, and animates you. Enjoy the contentment, relief, and sense of integrity that swell in your heart through living from and as this good. Let yourself know that you know what’s good. Feel yourself becoming more committed to this good. Feel yourself becoming this good.
As you like, repeat this process with other good things.
Love the wave!
Then your life’s wave becomes simpler, happier, and more beneficial.
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His seven books have been published in 31 languages and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture - with over a million copies in English alone. He's the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the co-host of the Being Well podcast - which has been downloaded over 10 million times. His free newsletters have 250,000 subscribers, and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.