Close Your Eyes and Swim

** A good friend of mine, Shaker Lashuel, who is a mentor to so many, a teacher, and a great writer, sent this to me when I was going through a confusing time. It really helped me then, and continues to help me. I re-read it recently because I needed to, and so decided to post it here, hoping it may help others as well **

There are junctures in our lives when we stand stationary and helpless. Hesitant, reluctant, and unable to move. We calculate and plan for the best possible direction of movement. We add, subtract, multiply, and divide in order to find the shortcut to the dreamy state of existence we seek.

Sadly in our eagerness to reach that destination, we sometimes forget to enjoy the journey as we become obsessed with the final destination. We stand there helpless, drenched by the what ifs and engulfed by uncertainty and fear.

The blessing of having many choices becomes a curse, and we turn the gift of freedom of choice into dilemmas and conundrums that chip away from our happiness and steal the moments of joy we were meant to have. 



In Yemen we say, those who don't close their eyes don't learn how to swim. Maybe we need to close our eyes and take the bold moves we are afraid to take. At the end, the destination we reach becomes irrelevant if we learn to enjoy the ride and internalize the lessons we learn. All of our choices will have consequences and ultimately we're judged not only by the choices we make but by how we deal with the consequences.