This post is an intriguing example of what happens when you let go. It reaffirms the old issues of how easily the mind can dominate; how convinced we can be by its stories; how it takes effort and intent to release ourselves from their entanglement; and how life really looks when you see the truth beyond the veneer.
10 days ago, while Marcus and I discussed our next retreat (intended for August this year), I updated him on the progress of The Instruction Manual. At that point the website was only half-finished, but Marcus is an enthusiastic person with great energy and conviction. So when I discovered that he had posted a link to the website on his facebook page, I was not wholly surprised, but my first thought was nonetheless that I need to have a word with him. ‘It’s not ready’, I thought. ‘We haven’t even launched it ourselves yet.’
And then I told myself to let it go, reasoning that this was the perfect example of what I need to learn. Not just to let go of something which is creating a strong reaction in me, but also to observe what happens when I do. And besides, Marcus’s post was pure and well-intentioned, channelling the same life force which he always embodies, so leave it. Let it go.
But of course my mind wanted the drama to continue. Its promptings echoed around my head, subsiding only gradually over the next hour or two. Each time I managed
to let things go for a second, the whole reaction began again. Not only was the unfinished website now out there, but my friend Martijn who was working on it, was already too busy editing our latest videos for me to reasonably ask him to hurry up and finish it. At that point, relaxing was the easiest option. So I did.
Then, strangely, within 36 hours the whole website was finished. I hadn’t said a word to anyone. (Except for her, of course, and she was the voice of reason which helped me to let go.) When I eventually shared my story with Martijn – thus completing the picture – he laughed and explained that, on that same night, he had planned to work on the videos but decided instead to focus on the website in order to finish it.
It reminded me of the first example in the post, ‘The Power Of Intention’, when Karaj had done something for me because I was clear I wanted it done (even though I had said nothing to him about it). In this case, my only real intention was to let go. Sure, I had wanted the website to be finished, and at the time I saw that as the easiest solution to the problem. But even easier was to not see it as a problem at all – just an unfolding of events which happened to differ from my expectations(!)
Life is a powerful force, and all-too often we stand in its way, demanding it bend to our will. When we let go, however, and accept life as it unfolds, our problems dissolve and our resistance falls away, leaving us free. We are part of life and can never be removed from it, so step aside, allow it to flower and flourish, and the most magical things will happen.