Let it Be

New Years Eve is, I suppose, a good time to let go of what we no longer need; to forgive and be forgiven; to make room in our hearts for whatever will help us to be more loving, more kind and more peaceful in our daily lives.

This year, I personally feel that I have a lot of baggage: attitudes that I need to change, resentments that I have held onto, fears that I need to overcome.

Years ago, we sat by the Deschutes River in Oregon, eating dinner outside while watching people float on rafts against a backdrop of the setting sun. A music concert played across the river and my heart filled with such peace, as I imagined all my troubles being carried away on the current of that river.
                                   

I think of that scene now and imagine all my emotional baggage floating down the river, as my soul is purged of its darkness, washed clean by the power of Spiritual water. Letting go...

"Letting go is like releasing a tight spring at the core of yourself; one you've spent your whole life winding and maintaining. When you let go, you grow still and silent. You learn to sit among the cornstalks and wait with God"  (Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits).

Sometimes, we have to let go not only of the negativity in our lives, but of our expectations. Things don't always go as we planned, we may have to adjust our course, to go with the flow, to let our life and the lives of our loved ones unfold according to God's plan, not ours. We may need to just "let it be" and move forward in faith that all will be well in time.

"...and when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines for me, shine until tomorrow, let it be... I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, "let it be, let it be..." (John Lennon and Paul Mc Cartney, "Let it Be")