The Power of Acceptance, Gratitude, Release and Trust

Inhale : Acceptance
Hold : Gratitude
Exhale : Release
Hold : Trust

One morning I was meditating and experimenting with words, and I came up with the mantra above. It seemed to powerfully relate not just to breathing but to cycles of life.

When you exhale, you’re not afraid that you won’t take the next breath. You don’t cling to the breath you’re holding. Holding onto a breath when you’ve taken all that you need from it turns it into poison. You trust that there will be a next breath, so you let go, release, the current one easily, joyfully. You trust that the next one will come.

And it does. You don’t fight it because you’re afraid of a new breath; you accept it, and that breath gives you everything your body needs from it to continue living. If we could be grateful for every breath, which is a small gift signifying that we are still alive – imagine how powerful that would be.

I can also choose to apply these words to my life. I accept the good that comes into my life; I appreciate it, feel gratitude for it. I then do not attach to or cling to it, but release it back into the universe. And then I TRUST that the good will come back into my life again, and the cycle will start over.

The cycles of breathing and acceptance/gratitude/release/trust also relate to the Buddhist word for suffering, dukkha, which literally translates into “a stuck wheel.” When you get stuck somewhere, you start to suffer. Dukkha also means “uneasy.” A stuck wheel cannot perform its function: to turn freely and easily. The cycle of breathing, the cycle of life, the turning of the wheel, all depend on your accepting the present, while not clinging to the past, AND trusting in the future. One part becomes unbalance, and the whole cycle is thrown off.

Imagine how powerful it would be to be able to accept, be grateful for, release, and trust that everything you need in life will come and go in its perfect time. All you have to do is accept and be grateful for what is, release what was, and trust in what will be. And keep breathing.