The Art of Letting Go
Last week, we had Contemplative Practice, an hour to drop in and spend time in prayer and reflection. We opened the practice with a poem from Catherine of Siena, a 14th century mystic.
When was the last time you felt as though you could truly rest? I don’t mean get some sleep, or take a nap. I mean…rest, as in, let go of everything from your to-do list, stop thinking about the family drama - in short, stop feeling like everything going on in your life is up to you?
Are you the sun in the poem? Or can you allow yourself to be the field?
This isn’t a shaming question. Sometimes, we have commitments. Sometimes, life is hard and people rely on us. Sometimes, work, life and more…just..sucks.
As I was looking around my office, I was noticing all of my plants. I probably have 60-some-odd houseplants. My main goal is to just keep them alive. I water them. If they start to struggle, I re-pot them. I fertilize them. I have little sun lamps for them. But otherwise, they pretty much chill in their pots and decide to grow or die.
My spiritual director, last time we met, said to me, “We talk a lot about timing, and being ready for things when they finally show up. But what if the other person being ready is what we’re actually waiting for?”
I’ve thought about that a lot, since then. That timing isn’t up to us. What other people choose to do isn’t up to us. So much is not up to us.
This is where letting go must become a practice, if we want to have more moments of true rest. The practice of letting go isn’t easy. It actually feels hard, or at least uncomfortable. But starting from a place of rest and restoration makes the moments when life is happening around us bearable.
Some Low-Barrier Contemplative Practices to Help Us Let Go
15 minutes of silence every day
A walk with no planned outcome
Sit with whatever you’re feeling for 5-10 minutes and allow yourself to feel it fully, even if it’s hard
Journal quietly for 15 minutes
Share what’s true right now with a friend
Lay outside and watch clouds pass
Take 5 intentional breaths
Doodle on a piece of paper for 5 minutes, paying attention to each stroke of the pen or pencil
All of these practices have “tradeoffs” that allow you to attend to what is, without having to do everything, be everything, attend to everything. Without having you need to be the sun.
You may already have some of these practices. You may not. But adding them might bring some lightness, or at least a remembrance, that you can let go - for 5 minutes at a time.
Be the plant for 60 seconds.
Gradually let go.
If you’re interested in joining for the next Contemplative Practice, it’s June 11th from 6:30PM-7:30PM CDT. You can sign up here. Scholarships available if that makes it accessible for you.
