From time to time I notice trends in human behavior as I sit with my clients. This week what most jumped out at me was how we humans have a tendency to avoid experiences. We do this in many ways, such as alcohol and other drugs, shutting down, going into a fantasy world or just procrastinating. It seems to me that experiential avoidance leads ultimately to suffering and anxiety. The more we avoid a feeling or experience the bigger we set it up to be.
The first step is to be aware of this tendency in our selves. The next step is to sit in the feeling and realieze that it will not kill us and that it can be very liberating.