Letting Go

I attended a wonderful retreat day next door today, sponsored by our Associates. Our presenter shared a reflection on "Letting Go" by Fr. Robert Gehring, a Maryknoll Associate Priest serving in Bolivia. I thought some of my bloggy friends might find it worth some reflection ...

Letting Go
To Let Go doesn't mean to stop caring,
it means I can't do it for someone else.
To Let Go is not to cut myself off,
it's the realization that I can't control another.
To Let Go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To Let Go is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To Let Go is not to try to change or blame another,
I can only change myself.
To Let Go is not to care for,
but to care about.
To Let Go is not to fix,
but to be supportive.
To Let Go is not to judge,
but to allow another to be a human being.
To Let Go is not to be in the middle
arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.
To Let Go is not to be protective;
it is to permit another to face reality.
To Let Go is not to deny,
but to accept.
To Let Go is not to nag, scold or argue,
but to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.
To Let Go is not adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes.
To Let Go is not to criticize and regulate anyone
but to try to become the dream I can be.
To Let Go is not to regret the past
but to grow and live for the future.
To Let Go is to fear less and Love more.

Learning to let go has certainly been a huge part of my own journey these past few years. To live into the dream I can be, to fear less and love more. It's always nice to know that one's own struggle and journeys are shared by others, and to have words to pray with.