Are you holding tight to the right things?
As I walked outside this morning it was impossible not to notice the trees have almost all lost their leaves.
I'm always struck this time of year, how easily nature seems to let go and in contrast how hard I find it.
This year has felt like I'm being asked not just to let go, but to surrender.
To 'give myself up' to what is happening.
To surrender into what I don't know and can't control.
It's hard though.
This letting go.
This surrending into the unknown.
I'd made an assumption that letting go is the same as giving up.
Yet I know that letting go and giving up are not the same thing at all.
Letting go is an acceptance of what is true.
An opening into possibility.
A facing into what I've been denying.
Giving up is a contraction.
A pulling back.
A removal of my myself emotionally or physically.
The two look and feel very different.
And I think there's one major reason:
We let go by choice, we give up when we feel we have no choice.
So this season, I'm consciously working on letting go of those things that don't support my growth.
For me that includes anything that makes me feel overwhelmed (news updates; social media)
Things that start with 'should'.
Looking outside of myself for approval.
And that dear, old friend, perfectionism.
Instead I'm focusing on what nourishes me and what I do have influence over.
As I look again at the trees outside my window, there's nothing they've 'given up'.
They're letting go to create space for new growth.
I don't know yet what will emerge out of this strange time, but I can choose to let go of anything that stops me from meeting it with ease, grace and kindness.
Is there anything you'd be better off letting go of and what would you like to nurture into growth with your attention and love instead?
She Let go
Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgements.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…
(Safire Rose, She let go)