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In one respect, hope is an enemy. Hope is an attachment to an imagined future. Its a source of disappointment. Dashed dreams weigh us down.

But hope for happiness, is our motivation. The reason we go on, is the desire for lasting contentment. So hope is also our friend. The right understanding of hope is what our life’s work should be.

Dancing

Sitting in meditation is a dance. We have a partner, of sorts. As we embark on sitting, each moment bringing something new. There are itches, distractions, surprises, and adjustments. All the sensations of these passing moments are our partner, our companion.

When we meditate we are dancing with each moment. Just like our very first dance, we are self-conscious, but eager. We hope for a connection, but we’re cautious of intimacy.

Our ideas about meditation are just like our ideas about people. We build stories. They’re filled with expectations, worries, hopes, and aspirations. There is always mystery involved in becoming intimate with another person. You never know what they’re thinking. So you’re always anticipating.

Personal Stories

Our stories aren’t just about other people. We have our own narratives. They can be satisfying and they can weigh us down. Our stories accumulate, change, and fade as we need them to. These stories are our resumes, conversations and our obituaries.

But in an important way, we need to see our stories for what they are, something other than our true selves. A biography can never be complete. Similarly, our stories can never be who we really are.

The Power of Our Stories

While we sit, each moment presents a new story. Whether we enjoy it depends on us. It depends on how we are looking.

In many ways our material success depends on our stories. If our narrative includes being a Harvard Business School graduate, we’re more likely to enjoy wealth and luxury. But if our story is that of failure, we tend to live out that story.

Stories shape our consciousness and our actions. They are the prism we look through and the bias we use to justify our actions. Stories shape the quality of our experience.

The Quality of Experience

When meditating we have the opportunity to observe our narratives as they play out in the dance. The power they hold over us, directly effect the quality of our experience. When we are slaves to our stories, our experience is narrow and tight. When we understand our stories as tools and that we exercise power over them, our quality of experience opens. This opening is a hint of the freedom that is available to us.

Right Hope

What I hope for you is that you aspire to this openness of experience. I hope you can find the freedom that comes with knowing your stories belong to you, not the other way around.

Intimacy is standing before your partner, accepting and giving fully. Meditation is intimacy with each moment and everything that arises in it. The story unwinds itself, our pleasure is to be found in being there as it unfolds.

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