On many occasions I have needed these words to remind me that life isn’t a race to the finish, not a race to see and do everything every day, not a tick list or a to-do list.

I don’t know about you but I am torn between the fear of not fully living every minute of the day, to the agony of just being. Of being still and content with what is. At peace with the world, but more so of what I am, here, right now and not worrying about what the rest of the world might doing that I may be missing out on, or could learn from, or could be helping with. This piece of writing reminds me to give myself some time to be content to just be, let the mind wander, smell the delicious scent of roses, watch the excitement of children as they sense the dawn of a new day, as I do now.

Letting go comes with an enormous sense of gratitude.  Gratitude for all that you are and all that you’ve been given. It is powerful beyond belief.

I hope that if you too are like me, this wonderful piece of writing will calm you.

And also make you laugh. I laugh at myself for being so foolish. I hope it also comforts you. We think that we are so different, so alone in our struggles, but in fact we are all so, so alike.

Ah, the relief of knowing that someone else feels as I do!

Letting go is, of course ironic, certainly to me. Ironic because it is not something you can strive to do, as I have learned, but something that finally happens, often in moments when you are struggling the most.

I hope that you too will find, as I have, that when it happens there is the most enormous sense of relief. You can’t hold onto it of course. And just like the peace that washes over you, in the moment of letting go, that this too is momentary.

And therein comes the lesson, all over again…

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of fear. She let go of the judgments.
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 analise 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.
Here’s to giving ourselves the gift of letting go…
There’s only one Guru ~ you.

―Piece by Rev. Safire Rose, introduced by Justine Clement