I want to ask you a question this morning. And there is no need for a show of hands, you can answer the question just for yourself. Like the monkey in the children’s story, have you ever been challenged by holding on to something so tightly that you had trouble letting it go?
I know that I have.
Many years ago I took part in a high ropes challenge with several friends. I happened to be the third or fourth person to strap on my gear and begin climbing the ladder that rose some 80 feet overhead where the course was woven into the treetops. I remember that I felt focused and confident as I began the climb. Any nervousness I had I brushed aside as I took one step and then another.
When I made it to the first platform I was stunned by what I saw. I had never seen the world from this vantage point before. I had climbed trees but never this high. After taking a few moments to drink in the beauty, I began to move confidently from platform to platform through each element along the way.
The final portion of the course consisted of an extended zip-line that provided the avenue of descent from the final platform to the earth below.
I made it to the last stand and – I FROZE.
That surprised me.
I had watched my friends before me sail through the air with squeals of glee. I had been looking forward to this endpoint with such anticipation. But here I was at the end of the line and I froze.
It would have been possible to backtrack and climb down or I could have been lowered to the forest floor with the aid of the gear I was wearing but that wasn’t what I wanted. I really wanted to feel the rush of wind on my face and hear my own voice peeling with elation.
BUT I WAS AFRAID. I was afraid of letting go.
I’m not sure how long I stood still considering my options. In reality it was a fairly short amount of time but it felt like an eternity. I finally summoned all the courage I had. I grabbed the rope that connected me to the zip-line, held on for dear life and I got ready to leap. I was aware of how tense my body was, especially my arms. I was convinced that if I loosened my grip I would fall. From somewhere I heard someone say, “JUST LET GO!”
And I did.
I was struck with the realization that I could relax, that I was supported. I was safe and that safety had nothing to do with my upper body strength. I did not have to hold on by myself. With this insight I remembered that I was wearing safety gear and I found my body sinking into the harness, safe and secure – the wind rushing over my skin just as I had imagined while I shrieked with total delight.
Now you may be saying to yourself, “Of course she was safe. She had safety gear on.” And that is true, but for those moments before I took that leap, my rational mind had been hijacked by fear.
And taking that leap involved faith that I would be ok. That faith was followed by trust that the equipment was going to do what it was supposed to. It was only by letting go of my fear that I was able to relax and enjoy the ride rather than remain rigid and white-knuckled for the duration of the descent. I could have made that leap with closed eyes and a tense body (and I almost did) but by letting go, the ride on the zip line was so much more gratifying.
I cannot tell you how many times I have reflected on this experience since then as I have considered what it means to me to let go – to let go in all kinds of situations. And when faced with the unknown to take a leap of faith and trust that the course going forward will somehow work out in the end.
What I have found to be true is that when I put my trust in the process of life, I can more readily relax and enjoy the ride. Even though there is certainly labor for me to do in the world, and even though there are many situations that seem insurmountable and give me a very good reason to pause, I don’t have to do this thing called life alone. In fact, even when I think I am on my own, doing all the hard stuff alone, I’m not – I have simply forgotten to let go and trust that I am supported.
I think one of the reasons this story holds such significance for me is because I did literally take a leap of faith. To me the imagery is not only metaphoric and symbolic, it is literal.
There are many times when and many ways in which we are called, pushed or prodded to let go of something as we step into the unknown. There are many times when we need to take that metaphoric or literal leap in all kinds of situations.
Some moments are bigger than others but every day; we are taking many leaps of faith. We are stepping into a future that is yet to be. We are letting go of what is in order to make room for what will be. And in all those instances, in some fashion, we are supported. The trick, I think, is to trust that the support is present even when it cannot be seen.
Writer and teacher Ashley Turner commented, “To surrender is to trust something greater than ourselves, which allows us to deepen our trust in the Universe.”
She went on to quote Einstein, who is attributed with saying “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves.” So what he is really saying is – do you believe the Universe is for you, or is it out to get you?
Turner concluded by saying, “As we begin to trust, we move out of the thinking, logical mind and into the realm of Spirit. A spiritual perspective invites us to see beyond form. We trust the unknown and unseen. We allow the heart and our intuition to guide us and let go of our need to assume, control, manipulate, and define.”
This can be a big deal. Choosing to trust in the unknown, the unseen can be difficult but the idea of being supported is reflected in our 7th Unitarian Universalist principle which asks that we have “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Now the phrase, all existence, covers quite a bit of territory. If we believe that we are a part of such a web of interdependence we surely are never alone. If we open our eyes to this as being true, we are invited to trust that support is ever near BUT it may require that we let go of our particular version of how things should be in order to see how things are.
We need to surrender to what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.
Buddhist teacher, Ajanh Chah says that “If you let go a little, you will have some peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.”
Clearly, I am operating from an underlying sense that the world is ultimately a place worthy of being trusted. I know that such trust can be sorely tried. The events of our lives may have given us many reasons not to trust. Our capacity to trust can be profoundly challenged as we get caught up in daily news cycles, but in spite of all the tumult I have chosen to answer the question “Is the universe friendly?” in the affirmative. I believe that the absence of trust produces fear and uncertainty. Holding on too long or too hard causes us to build walls rather than bridges. Rigidity and stress, the by-products of fear related to our unwillingness to let go, have very real consequences on our health and relationships.
When we relate to life events with fear and uncertainty we are often unable to see possibilities that may be available to us. I recognize that we all are coming at this question with our own story and that we will each come to our own conclusion in how we answer such questions.
And I am not suggesting that letting go is easy to do. We have excellent reasons for holding on. We hold onto ideas, people, circumstances, hopes and dreams because their presence in our lives have been something that has served us in some fashion - even our pain and problems. We often hesitate to make changes because our current suffering seems so much better than our fear of the unknown.
When we began this morning, I asked you if you have ever had trouble letting things go? I’d like to ask you another question now. What might you consider letting go of in order to make room for what is yet to come?
I ask this question knowing full well that each of you have let go of many things in your lives already. But if you are anything like me, I suspect that there may be a few more things that you may still be clinging to that no longer serve you.
Letting go is a part of life. I am letting go of one version of myself as I prepare to step into the role of ministry. Through this process I am constantly letting go of limiting voices. I am letting go of the need to know how my story will turn out. I am graduating from seminary next week at the age of 61. Part of what I have to let go of is limiting thoughts about aging. Instead of looking at retirement, I am taking a leap of faith, zip-lining, if you will, into a whole new phase of life. I am choosing to trust that I will continue to be supported on this path.
Change will happen – some by invitation, other change comes unbidden. We have agency to determine how we respond to it when it arrives. We can resist or we can welcome it when it comes. Countless techniques abound in spiritual practices and self-help books to assist us in becoming more fluid, more willing to let go and leap but underlying any of this is the belief that we do not let go in order to make ourselves impoverished or bereft.
We let go in order to discover happiness and peace.
Life will always be filled with complexities and the unknown. The great thing about that is we have endless opportunities to practice letting go whether it is a little or a lot.
May your days be filled with welcomed change, may you trust that the next leap of faith will hold gifts as yet unforeseen.