We'll See What Happens

12:38

12:38

We'll See What Happens

by Brooks Palmer

Rated

4.7

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

580

This recording will help you let go of fears of the future. When you tell yourself, "We'll see what happens," you let go of the fears and are present in the moment. When you are present, you feel peace of mind, and will be able to clearly experience and appropriately react to whatever is happening in the moment.

Anxiety Present Moment Uncertainty Acceptance Stress Mental Fatigue Peace Of Mind Present Moment Awareness Covid 19 Anxiety Management Habit Formations

Meet your Teacher

Sebastopol, CA, USA

Meet your Teacher

Sebastopol, CA, USA

Transcript

Hi, It's Brooks. Thanks for joining me. Today we're going to talk about the concept of we'll see what happens. I love that phrase. We'll see what happens. That means we don't know what's going to happen. And it'll become apparent to us when it does happen. And I love this because it helps reduce those thoughts about the future. Whether they're fearful or hopeful or, You know, Those really strong expectations. That can actually get in the way of us truly experiencing the moment as it happens. So, We'll see what happens. There's a freedom in that. We will see what happens when it happens. You know what it is when you have a fear. It's like the fear can feel real. Not a fear of what's happening in the moment. But the fear of the future. An imagined event in the future. Oh my God, What if this happens? Oh my God, Oh. And this is really especially important nowadays with COVID-19. There's a fear of what's going to happen to me? Am I going to get COVID? Are other people I know going to get it? What's going to happen to other people? There's a lot of fear. What's going to happen to the economy? And imagining really horrible scenarios. That's what future fear does. That moment is a real thing. If we're out for a walk and a dog comes up to us and starts barking at us very intensely, It's natural to be afraid of that moment. And that fear is helpful for you to deal with that event in the moment. But future fear is. . . We can't do anything about it. So what happens is when we have future fear, We're imagining this really bad scenario and believing it's going to happen. And what happens is our body and mind experience it as if it's happening right now. So we're given adrenaline, We're given a bunch of chemicals to deal with that situation, And there's nothing to actually deal with. And it wears us out. And it takes us out of the moment because we're terrified of something that could happen. And it keeps us from noticing the things that are here right now. And so we'll see what happens. Try that on for a slide. Just say that a few times. Think about it for a few times. Notice how it feels. We'll see what happens. When I say it, I feel my stomach relax. Oh, That's nice. And I feel I breathe deeper when I say, We'll see what happens. Maybe there's a part of us that can panic. It's like, I don't want to let go of my fear thoughts. Because they help me be prepared for what if that does happen. But the thing is, We're built to deal with things in the moment as they're happening. So we can't deal with an imagined scenario. Even if it did happen, The fear over a long period of time about it, Which is where I was at, We won't be able to deal with it. If it did happen that way. But chances are, It won't happen the way that we expect. I mean, I don't know about you, But I've certainly had the experience of expectations. You know, Whether it's a positive expectation or a negative one, Most of the time they never happen. It's so interesting. It's like, Oh, It didn't happen. Oh well. It helps reinforce this idea of we'll see what happens. Because there's truth to that statement. There's truth to that. We will see when it does happen. When it's revealed to us in the moment. Through our senses, Through our awareness. The senses will send it to our brain and we'll respond to that. Whatever it is. Positive or negative event. In a very fresh way. We'll see what happens is freshness. We'll see how it evolves. How it appears to me. And I think you can say this, If you find yourself looking at the news. I've noticed the news lately talks a lot about the possibilities of what could happen. Especially with COVID. It's like, This is what could happen if this, If we put this in place or if we don't put this in place, This is what could happen. And this many people might die. This many people might get sick. And that puts you in that fearful state. It's like, Oh my god. Oh my god. And even though that's not happening, So if you say, We'll see what happens. You know. And maybe you're the kind of person that has a lot of hope. Like I hope this happens. I'd rather think, I hope this happens because maybe it'll help it happen. And you know, That could be a person's nature. Some people are more hopeful than they are more fearful. And you can look at your own life and see kind of where your tendency is. You know. Hope for a particular future. Fear for a particular future. And I still think it's more peaceful to think we'll see what happens. You know. Now that means, Like if we do have a thought, A fearful thought about the future, Or if we do have a pleasant hope about the future, That doesn't mean to like push it down or say, Oh I shouldn't have that. Because that's an experience. It's happening in that moment. A fear about the future is happening right now. Or a hope for the future is happening right now. But noticing it in the moment and going, Oh that happened. Then it tends to be over in the next moment. But to dwell on it, To think about it, Like oh my god I hope I don't get COVID, I hope I don't get COVID. Or oh my god, What if I get it, What if I get it, What if I get it. It just repeats itself. It's like an echo. It's like skipping a stone. You know, Have you ever done that skip the stone across the water? It's like skipping a stone across the ocean. It just keeps So it's a repetition of that thing. And again it can it wears us out. A lot of mental thinking. Even positive or negative. It can wear us down. The repetition of it. We're going to think what we're going to think. It happens spontaneously. A thought comes out of nowhere and it's already out there. There's nothing you can do about that. So these things come up and we say we'll see what happens. Again because it's true. We will see what happens. And I'm repeating this a lot. Just because I think it's worth considering. It's worth noticing. And it's worth seeing the effect that it has on you. Sometimes we have to repeat things anvil at times to pick up a new habit. To start something different. And I think this is a good habit for these days. And the amazing things about us as human beings and we'll see what happens. We're really built for dealing with things when they happen. It's right in front of us. If all of a sudden you feel like you're sick and you have a temperature rising like oh my god I have a temperature. I'm not feeling that well. My body hurts. It's like alright what do I have to do? I have to call my doctor. I have to call the hospital and see what they say. We can deal with that. It's not overwhelming. It's in front of us. We're capable of dealing with it. If nothing is happening to us in the moment, That's really nice. And without the feeling of what if this happens or I sure hope this happens. There's some really nice quiet that comes with that. We'll see what happens. And the quiet is good because it gives us a rest. That doesn't mean having no thoughts or not doing anything. But again it's that incessant repetition of possible future outcomes. Imagining them. Just in believing in them. Investing our heart and soul in the possibility of that happening. It does wear us out. So again when we come back to we'll see what happens. And notice that. Let's take a little few moments here again to say that out loud or to feel it. We'll see what happens. Just to start to introduce that into our physiology, Into our heart and mind. So let's take a few months to say we'll see what happens. During that moment of quiet I was thinking about how when I go to see a movie I really love if I don't know what's going to happen in the next moment. Some movies I'll see it like oh yeah I know where this is going. And often times that's where it goes. You can tell certain things are cliche. Like oh yeah this is, They're redoing another movie I've already seen. And it's kind of dull. You get bored. I start like oh god I wish I hadn't seen this movie. But when I don't know what's going to happen in the film, What the actor is going to do, What's going to happen in the story, It's very exciting. It's thrilling. It's much more entertaining. And I think that life is much more entertaining again when we'll see what happens. And so I encourage you to try this on. And see how it fits. And try it out. You know? Say to yourself when it comes up, When it comes to you spontaneously like oh yeah we'll see what happens. I'm feeling tense about the future. We'll see what happens. And so we'll see what happens with this experience for you. It was really good spending time with you. And I wish you the best. Take care.