“If you let go a little, you will find a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will find a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will find complete peace.” Ajahn Chah
What more is there to say or to write.
When I first crawled into Al-Anon, thinking only, “Tell me if he’s an alcoholic. There’s no way I would ever be with an alcoholic,” I heard “let go and let god.” That stayed with me and, truthfully, helped save me from myself back then.
But I don’t think I let go completely. Not even close.
Being raised in my cult to save the world and sacrifice for god, it was all important to always hold on, always be in control, always get “it” done and done well. Being raised in my cult and our society to please, to yield, to give in, to meet your needs no matter what and before you even knew you had them, it was important to always hold on, always be in control, always get “it” done and done well.
No wonder I (maybe we) had a hard time letting go.
But the more I let go, and let go a little bit more, and edge toward letting go completely, I find what Ajahn Chah said to be true. Very true. The more I let go, the more peace I find.
The more I try to convince you or please you or win you over or argue my point, the more I get caught in it and the worse I feel. The more I let go – whether gracefully and gently or with a big “whatever” in my mind – the more peace I find and the better I feel.
Again, I am by no means saying that there aren’t fights that need to be fought and societal (or interpersonal) wrongs that need to be righted. There are times when I, when we, need to hold our ground and state the case and push for what we need and see and push for those who can’t push for themselves.
But the more I let go of other people’s responses and what I want for or from them and I stay focused on myself and how I’m showing up and how much more I can come from love and truth, the better it goes for me. The more I “Take an action and let go of the results” as I also learned in Al-Anon, the freer and more peaceful I am and can be.
I may never get to completely, but I can certainly go for more.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this post with others if it resonates with you!
Photo by Alyssa Sieb on nappy
