Welcome to Wander,
The spiritual practices guide that goes with you.
I'm your host,
Greg Powell.
I grew up in various parts of Canada and have learned to love the snow.
Whether skiing or running in the snow,
Building forts,
Snowball fights,
I have such fond memories.
And now I live in a climate where we don't really have snow.
That is until this weekend when it fell and fell and the kids and we went outside and played until we were so exhausted.
And now that the weather has warmed up again and the sun is shining and the snow is melting,
I find myself longing to cling to that melting snow,
Trying to resist its disappearance.
And I've had to come back to the practice of letting go.
If I fight the melting of the snow,
That's only going to cause me distress.
I cannot beat the melting snow.
But I can find peace within myself to accept the situation,
Even though I have feelings about it.
I can find ways to accept that which is beyond my control.
Each of us has this ability.
So I'm going to go outside and sit by the creek in my backyard,
And I wonder if you'll come with me.
And we'll practice this letting go.
I'm sitting by the stream.
It's a calming presence.
The ability to let go is an important skill for all of us.
Whether we're downsizing or moving and having to get rid of stuff,
Or whether we're finding a way to zoom out of a particular situation to get a new perspective.
Like,
Say,
My son has dumped flour all over the kitchen in a playful way.
It's helpful if I can let go and zoom out and find the humor.
Or maybe letting go is important in situations where we have to accept limits that are beyond our control.
We all have to let go from time to time.
This doesn't mean living completely detached from the world or from other people.
Quite the opposite,
Actually.
A flourishing life is deeply,
Deeply connected to others and to our surroundings.
Letting go,
Then,
Means finding equanimity.
It means being at peace.
Here's a light example.
At some point in my childhood,
I had to accept that I was not going to play professional hockey.
I could feel strongly about it.
Sadness,
Regret,
Blame.
Remember,
I'm about eight years old here.
But ultimately,
I had to find peace.
I couldn't let that torment me forever.
This is a light example,
But every one of us can think of heavier examples when it's been important to let go.
And by which,
Again,
I mean find peace.
We all have to find peace or equanimity.
Find a way to be okay with the circumstances that are around us,
Even when they call for deep passion and commitment.
I follow the Christian tradition,
Which is deeply rooted,
Originally,
Anyway,
In the practice of kenosis in Latin.
Kenosis,
Which means letting go or self-emptying,
Literally.
During the season of Lent,
We remember Jesus venturing into the wilderness to lose himself,
Ultimately,
For the purpose of finding himself,
Freeing himself of whatever will he imposed on himself and the world to find a will that is perpetually grounded in love.
He ventures into the wilderness to lose himself and to remember his groundedness as the embodiment of the source of love.
And while out there,
He faced three tests,
And they were each practices of letting go.
First,
He had to let go of his body's control over his psychological state.
The story goes that he fasted for 40 days,
So we can imagine what was going on for him.
We can presume that his body was exerting control over his psychological and emotional state,
And he had to overcome that.
Then he had to let go of the innate desire for power and wealth.
The temptation says that he was offered all the power in the land,
And he had to turn it down.
He had to let go of that.
Finally,
He had to let go of his self-doubt so that later he could overturn the tables of injustice and find unity with love and teach others to find the same.
Canosis.
Self-emptying.
Letting go.
Our bodies do this naturally if we think of the waste products of respiration,
For example.
We call them waste products,
But they're actually surplus or even inputs for others.
Carbon dioxide,
For example.
Our body knows how to let go of carbon dioxide so that the plants around us can take it in.
Our bodies know how to let go.
Our hearts,
Our emotional states,
And our minds,
Our thinking states,
Aren't always so adept at letting go.
We hold on to desires that can't be borne out in reality.
We cling to ideals and when the world doesn't reflect those back,
We become distraught,
Anxious.
Which is not to say that those ideals aren't important,
Because often they are.
We have to aim for something.
We have to create a world that is fair for all creatures.
And I need to find a way to be okay somehow with that not happening in my lifetime.
And so,
What is it that you need to let go of?
What is it that occupies your energy,
Your thinking,
Your emotions,
That you need to let go of?
If we imagine our bodies as receptacles for love,
If there is hatred,
There isn't room for love.
If we are seeking to receive the invitation to do good,
We have to empty ourselves of that which is not good.
If we are seeking to follow a way of peace,
We have to free ourselves of the violence that is inside.
If we are to contribute to the regeneration of new life,
We have to empty ourselves of that which seeks the opposite.
What thoughts limit our own contributions to new life?
What past hurts prevent us from loving fully?
What negative self-talk prevents us from receiving love fully?
Maybe there are habits or behaviors that take a whole lot of time and energy and ultimately don't lead us toward a better life.
We need to empty ourselves of those habits and behaviors.
What desires are there?
Maybe for material goods,
Maybe for other sources of pleasure,
That conflict with the manifestation of peace and love.
What desires do you need to free from yourself?
When there is emptiness,
Then there is the opportunity for new thoughts,
New behaviors,
New desires that align perfectly with the invitation to new life.
We can be free of whatever causes distress within such that there is peace within and such that we can manifest peace beyond ourselves and such that all life can flourish.
Take note of the sensations in your body as you envisioned yourself free of that which holds you back and perhaps as you've allowed space for new opportunities to align with the vision of love.
What's happening for you?
And so I invite you to draw your awareness back to your immediate surroundings.
If you've closed your eyes,
You might open them.
You'll be taking a few deep breaths to recenter yourself.
I thank you for coming with me on this journey,
For sitting beside this creek with me.
And until next time,
I'm Greg.
Peace.
