Dealing with Tension

Tension can be a physical sensation but most often, I think it's associated with conflict. The most pervasive conflict that characterizes tension is between wanting something to be a certain way and accepting what it is. I have noticed that when my forehead is tense, the way to "untense it" is to paradoxically enjoy the tension itself. We so often associate tension with a kind of trap or prison, and it needn't necessarily look that way.

There is the bodily aspect of tension but there is also the mental tension as well: wanting something to be what it isn't, and failing to accept what it is now. This comes from believing that thoughts are more enduring than they are, as well as an attitude of judging oneself and the moment. Rather than trying to judge the moment, we should treat each moment like a special flavor of chocolate or something else that we enjoy, and fully savor it. It is not enduring or substantial, but can we look closely and see its empty aspect, and how are mind is constantly changing in relation to it? This is where even the simplest moment or most mundane can turn into a rather fascinating meditation on the mind. But in order to do this, we need the depth to find wonder and paradox even in the midst of the mundane. This is certainly where practice sets in.