A poem that my friend and colleague in learning, Allister Hain, shared with. Well timed. I have been in a few conversations recently with people close to me that are learning about control (and thus, as am I). A long-time friend feeling the realities of mid life, being family, working, serving in church, and trying to remember place in the world. And with my teenaged daughter, who is beginning to learn about contrast.
ALLOW by Danna Faulds
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in —
the wild and weak —
fear, fantasies, failures, and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart
or sadness veils your vision with despair,
practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your known way of being,
the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
