(Above: Full Moon in Cancer, Sun enters Aquarius.)

“Silence is the highest achievement.”
— Sri Ramana Maharshi

The roots of anything that cause us stress typically boils down to a thought. A thought.

It’s not the thing in front of us. It’s the thought about the thing that causes us stress. Absent the thought, we’d be pretty peaceful walking around here.

In the case of worry, which is an imagined fear, the root thought is, “I know what’s best.”

You think you know what’s best. And you may have very good reason to believe your thoughts about it. You may have proof, social backing, and so on.

The truth is: you don’t know what’s best. For you, or for anybody else.

If you want to know what is best, look to what is happening. Look to what is.

What is, is best.

Because it’s the only thing we have. By definition it is best.

If we are in disagreement with what is, we are assuming we know what is best.

There should be more justice. There should be peace in the Middle East. He shouldn’t have done that. On and on it can go like that.

Disagreements with what is happening.

To should is to worry. It is a mental attempt to change reality. It is the path of effort and stress, and much more than that.

How in the world can we know what is best for us, or anybody else? Who put us in charge? Our thoughts are very convincing like that. They’re bossy.

Imagination and dreaming are quintessentially human. Have aspirations. These are inner wishes of the heart, different than opinions about what should be the case.

Let’s work towards them without the edge of thinking they are the best outcome for us.

The journey is the destination. What is happening right now is what is best for you.

And it is subject to change at a moment’s notice.

This all leads to the practice of surrender and silence. Letting things be as they are. Not imposing our will upon reality based on innocent, though mistaken notions of what is best.

This is the path of peace. 🙏🏻

Suggested Use
- Have pen and paper ready.
- Read this passage once.
- Then, reread it a little more slowly. Pause. Reflect.
- Journal any connections or intentions that come to you.
- Come back a few days later and read again.
- Repeat two or three more times.

There is no correct answer. Only take what resonates.
Kindly share these words if you feel another could benefit.

ॐ शान्तिः