Let Go

Wherever I can let go, I let go. Where I can forgive, I forgive. Where I can loosen my grip on the way I want things to be, I loosen up. I let go. Where I can be gentle, I’m gentle. Where I can relax, I relax.

Letting Go Can Be Difficult

I don’t struggle or fight with myself over these changes. I simply ask, “Is there a way to be more relaxed right now?” “Can I be more at ease with life as it is right now?” Just observe. Take a step back. Just notice the way things are. Whether walking, sitting, standing, or lying down, be as gentle as you can, be as easy, let go of as much as you are able with ease.

Holding On Is So Much More Difficult

Ajahn Chah put it this way in one of his talks,

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything or to make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator or try to become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this – just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out the battle.

This is our practice, and where the practice takes us.

Happy Mother’s Day!