but of course it isn't always true

Take falling asleep for example

You can prepare in the right way, put yourself in the right position and get yourself comfortable

but after that, you can't force it to happen

In fact, it works exactly the other way around

The harder you try, the less sleepy you become

It's only when we stop trying that we finally let go and drift off

and before we know it

we're waking up the next morning feeling refreshed, relaxed after a good night's sleep

It's a very similar story when we're training the mind

A nice metaphor for this is the idea of taming a wild horse

If you look at how a wild horse is tamed, rather than pinning it down in one place

The horse is let out on a very long rope

and put in a big, open, spacious field

The horse runs around feeling like it's got all the space in the world

But very slowly, the rope is pulled in

and the horse adjusts to this feeling

until it comes to a natural place of rest

We're looking to do just the same thing with the mind in meditation

Not trying to pin it down in one place but bringing it to a natural place of rest

So let go of any idea of needing to achieve something or get somewhere

And instead, enjoy the opportunity to sit back, relax and be present in the world