As the Leaves Fall, I Let Go
There’s a beautiful song by Kathy Zavada about letting go . . .
“As the leaves fall, I let go.
Let go, let God.
As the wind blows, I let go.
Let go, let God.
As I breathe in, I let go.
As I breathe out, I let go.
Let go, let God.
Let go, let God.
Let go, let God.
Let go.”This is what I’ve been working on lately. It’s one of the central teachings in Vedanta philosophy. But can you work on letting go? Isn’t work the opposite of letting go? HmmmmFor example, I was making plans to go do laundry with my “laundry buddy” yesterday. In order to go, we need to borrow one of the cars that belong to the ashram. But whether a car is available at any given time is hit or miss, depending on how many others have already borrowed a car. No reservations. So, we started to get fixated on trying to reserve a car because there’s only a day between courses, and it would be hard to find time to go do laundry during the course that’s starting next. But there’s no system for reserving cars. So, I told my friend that we may or may not be going to do laundry, and that we needed to be ok with that. It was an opportunity to “work on letting go”. Could I accept in advance that there may not be a car available? Could I trust in God that whatever happens is for the highest good? Could I let go of the stress that was building whenever I started to think that there might not be a car available? This is a small example, but not really. The stresses that we feel throughout the day add up. If I couldn’t let go even in this small scenario, what chance would I have when the stakes are higher? I found that once I decided to let go, great peace entered my mind. My task now is to notice whenever I start stressing about anything, whether it’s a desire for a particular result or a fear of a particular result. If I can catch myself, I can nip it in the bud. I can consciously let go. What a gift we can give ourselves this way. What a blessing! Oh, by the way, there was a car available, and we went and did laundry happily.
Let go, let God.
As the wind blows, I let go.
Let go, let God.
As I breathe in, I let go.
As I breathe out, I let go.
Let go, let God.
Let go, let God.
Let go, let God.
Let go.”This is what I’ve been working on lately. It’s one of the central teachings in Vedanta philosophy. But can you work on letting go? Isn’t work the opposite of letting go? HmmmmFor example, I was making plans to go do laundry with my “laundry buddy” yesterday. In order to go, we need to borrow one of the cars that belong to the ashram. But whether a car is available at any given time is hit or miss, depending on how many others have already borrowed a car. No reservations. So, we started to get fixated on trying to reserve a car because there’s only a day between courses, and it would be hard to find time to go do laundry during the course that’s starting next. But there’s no system for reserving cars. So, I told my friend that we may or may not be going to do laundry, and that we needed to be ok with that. It was an opportunity to “work on letting go”. Could I accept in advance that there may not be a car available? Could I trust in God that whatever happens is for the highest good? Could I let go of the stress that was building whenever I started to think that there might not be a car available? This is a small example, but not really. The stresses that we feel throughout the day add up. If I couldn’t let go even in this small scenario, what chance would I have when the stakes are higher? I found that once I decided to let go, great peace entered my mind. My task now is to notice whenever I start stressing about anything, whether it’s a desire for a particular result or a fear of a particular result. If I can catch myself, I can nip it in the bud. I can consciously let go. What a gift we can give ourselves this way. What a blessing! Oh, by the way, there was a car available, and we went and did laundry happily.
Love Always,
Sahadev
Sahadev
QUOTES FROM MY NOTESWorship and prayer are opportunities to express your feelings without pretense.
Do not react to the surface expressions of people. The surface is just a costume covering their true nature. Be affectionate to all, compassionate to all. Be sensitive to the pain of others.
Inner transformation depends on our attitude. Wrong actions don’t bind us. Right actions don’t free us. Wrong attitudes bind us. Right attitudes free us.
The wise person does not feel egoistic pride, but feels grateful for the blessing of being an instrumental part of any good or great thing.
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