"The ultimate value of staying open is that we're scoured clean of all that might burden us: memories, wounds, assumptions, and conclusions - even the debris of unworkable dreams. And more important than what we reach for or aspire to is the cleansing release of all that takes up residence in the reservoir of our perception and feeling. For unprocessed experience and unlived dreams clog our arteries of being, and this can be life-threatening. So, like it or not, we're asked to let everything in and through, trusting that it's the passage of life through us that is renewing, not what we accumulate or accomplish along the way. As blood must pass through organs, as rivers must empty into the sea, thoughts and feelings must pass through our being, if we're to stay fresh and changeable. After all these years, I've come to see that the aim is not to be empty or full, but to stay an open channel for everything life has to offer. I'm still learning how to do this."
