Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today we're going to talk about absolute okayness with the present moment. So we're often okay with the present moment when things are happening that are pleasant, things we like. But what happened when something unwanted or unpleasant happens? In that case, we usually have resistance to the experience. In other words, we want it in some way, want it to go away or change.

You know, we don't like it and we're not really okay with it. It's a little bit like we're in the present moment, but we're like this. You know we're kind of in the present moment, but we're closed off to it, we're resisting it. And the more we build resistance in the body and mind, you know, we really start to build a lot of tension. So the more we have this feeling, the more we focus on this feeling, I don't want this, I don't like this, the more you might have noticed, right, in your own firsthand experience, the more we build negativity and suffering, you know, and the less present we truly are.

This is especially true in the case of emotions. When we resist and tense up around a troubling emotion, what we don't realize is we're often giving it renewed attention and energy to stay and get bigger. It's only when we let go of that resistance and when we're kind of equally happy for things to come, stay or go, when we have that kind of acceptance, then we find peace of mind in all circumstances. Now we can be relaxed and at ease in the present moment, even in tricky times. Now, one thing you have to watch out for is that when people first understand that non-resistance leads to peace of mind, they kind of try to trick themselves, you know.

They kind of maybe say to themselves, okay, I don't mind if this troubling emotion is here. But if we're only telling ourselves this with the secret hope in the background, that our non-resistance will make the emotion go away, it's not a true letting go. We can't kid ourselves. So this absolute okayness has to be genuine. We have to be totally okay with what's arising, not having the faintest desire that it needs to disappear or change.

That kind of unconditional acceptance life brings about a profound peace of mind. Now, what I'm talking about here is nonresistance on the level of the mind. So you can still take, take action to create positive change in your life, but you do it from a state of inner peace. And in fact, you can take more effective action when you're not caught up, of course, in all that emotional reactivity and suffering and negativity. So your actions will be infused with a calm, clarity and wisdom that's always with us when we're in that state of absolute acceptance and absolute okayness.

So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And just inviting you now to settle in for today's meditation.