What is distress but a pulling tight of your heartstrings? Language sometimes describes tension as getting wound up. Distress is a contraction of your heart. It is your heart that you are pulling tight, as if your heart were the bow of an arrow you get ready to let go, yet never do let go. You keep tightening your heart as if to make life taut and fraught without cease or release.

Language also tells you to unwind.

Your heart is like a violin string.

You are pulling your heart back too far and tie your heart up in knots.

Your heart is restrained with fear. What terrible thing would happen if you would release all your built-up tension and untangle your palpitating heart from tension?

Freedom would happen.

You have been breathing too much air into your heart as if your heart were a balloon. Let some of the air out so your heart can be a viable heart and not a heart squeezed tight.

You don’t even know what you are afraid of. Your fear is generalized without demarcation. It is an unknown overwhelming fear that leaves you jagged. Jagged fear presses on you, oppresses you, represses you. Fear is like a tourniquet you wind too tight.

You are like a runner who cannot seem to stop running. Even in sleep, your legs are churning.

You may fear that you would be undone if you were not wound tight. You may fear, that you would collapse, relapse when you have a lapse in tension. Of course, this relaxation is exactly what is required.

What is tension doing as your long-lived companion?.

Pour cooling waters over your fraughtness. Give yourself a break.

You may feel that you are meeting life head-on when you are really running away from life. If your life were a package, We could say you wrap it too tight.

Breathe, beloveds, breathe. Breathe peace in, and breathe tension out, just as you would have two motions when you swim. Locate yourself in boundless freedom. You are not limited to tenseness. You are free to be at peace. Dip the oars of your heart into the lake, and then pull the oars out from the lake lightly.

Catch your breath, and let it out.

We come back to: “Let go, let go.” Beloveds, you may be holding on to what you don’t want. Is this not what you are doing when you are strung so tight? Who tells you to do this? I tell you to lie back and float. Stop the struggle. Fish struggle only when they are caught. What net are you caught up in? And you are not a caged bird.

You are to be at ease. Let churning waters roll over you. Let go of this mountain of resistance you carry with you as if resistance were your defense. Unwind assault from your life, assault that you premeditate against yourself. You don’t need to be propped up and bound and overwrought. Free yourself from fear. Let go of fear. Fear is not to be your master. Unnamed fear does not serve you. It does not serve anyone. Free yourself from servitude to anonymous fear. Fear is frightening. Let go of it. Once and for all, let go of fear. 

You have had enough of fear. You have latched onto it too well. Be done with fear. Undo the knots you have tied. Untie them. Picture yourself untying all these needless knots. Feel yourself loosen fear’s hold on you. No longer be fearful.

Free yourself. Say adieu to fear. Banish it from your kingdom. This is your life. Your life belongs to you rightfully -- not frightfully. You are self-determining. You are not tied to the habit of fear. Abandon fear. Fear does not protect you. It undermines you. Fear is to your detriment. No longer associate with fear. There, there, now, no longer bow down to fear. Expel fear, you don’t need fear. You have Me.