Awareness is like Conditioner

I have light brown curly or wavy hair. Depending on the weather, I can look very different. I have my Kate Beckinsale days, and I can also have days when I look like Elmo’s brown cousin, Shmelmo. Since I was a child, I have always had knots in my baby fine hair, and combing it used to be an ordeal until the magnificent day I discovered, drum roll please…, Conditioner!
All of a sudden, tangles became a thing of the past, as I could now actually run my comb through my hair without cringing.
Now, I’m not sure exactly how it works: I just know it has something to do with the hair's cuticle and miraculous botanical extracts and formulas closely guarded by Mr. Garnier & Mr. Sassoon. But even though I don't know exactly how it all comes together, the conditioner still works to dissolve & untangle all the little knots on my head.

But what about the jumbles and messes inside the head, you know, under all the hair? Well, awareness, the non-judgmental and non-preferential seeing of something, is just like conditioner for those messes!

Simply seeing what is without judging it or wishing it were different, is enough to dissolve our mechanical behaviors, no matter how long they have been previously stuck. So we have the choice to simply look at a behavior and say “oh. I did that” without tacking on the rest of the sentence which is usually, “I’m so _________.” (Which, let's admit, we usually fill in with an unflattering word, like ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, ‘pathetic’, ‘lazy’ … And if you notice that you tacked something on, then just don’t continue the cycle. Just like you don’t have to read or forward a chain email telling you Bill Gates is going to give you a penny for every fwd you send, you can just hit ‘delete’ instead and get rid of the Spam in your thoughts. You can even make a game of it.

No Assembly Required

You know that feeling you got as a kid, opening up your presents on Christmas morning or on your Birthday, and you ripped open the wrapping paper, and -oh my golly- there it was: the Snoopy Sno Cone Machine / Model Train set / Barbie's Dream House, in all its put-together glory in the big glossy photo on the side of the box. At the bottom, there they were, those three dreaded words sure to strike dread in the heart of any parent: "some assembly required." But in your sugar-induced euphoria, you gleefully ripped open the box, and out tumbled dozens of plastic pieces and tiny screws & bolts. And then watched in a fit of frustrated agony as it took your Mom or Dad and 2 uncles (one of whom was an engineering major in college) about four hours to put together. And then it still looked nothing like what was on the box? Remember that?
Well Transformation is nothing like that! In fact, there's no assembly required. Transformation can start right away! You don't need to wait till you are "better" or "all put-together." Where and as you are right now is not only enough, it is perfect.
All it takes to transform is the non-jugdgmental and non-preferential seeing of what is. The way your life is right now - across the board - including your job (or lack thereof), your relationship (or lack thereof), family, education, physcal condition, home, commute, internet connection (or lack thereof), wardrobe is perfect for you to experience Transformation.
That is something I had forgotten lately, and luckily was reminded by some pretty cool people I am proud to call my friends.