POEM: A Prayer for Letting Go (Terror and Awe)
A poem and mandala tonight in anticipation of the full moon
A Prayer for Letting Go (Terror and Awe) July 30, 2023 Open your hands. Release all you hold. Be released from all that holds you. There is a prayer for letting go... It starts with this: Catch me. What is it in us that does the letting go? It is the same as what does the catching. "But," you say, "it’s scary." Oh, I know. The fear keeps you imprisoned in your gilded cage, Trust me. The lack of trust makes you stay within your comfort zone. But, readiness must be earned, not forced. And you must be ripe, not green. You’ll know when the time comes: Because the fruit is nearly falling off the tree... Because you are nearly falling off the world... Pushing away from what no longer serves... Coming apart from the supports... Sensing something wide open... So open, it might swallow you whole... By that point you're already in too deep. What else is there to do? You could cling—but it’s unnatural now. You could shut your eyes—but the light will blind you anyhow. Let go. It's holding you now. More than fear, it’s terror you say? Let me give you a tip: There’s a fine line between terror and awe. Both tremulous affects. Both emotions of seeking Standing there in the truth of your own fragility, right on the edge of your own oblivion— Standing in the presence of something so great it could destroy you if it chose to… Will it? The degree to which you trust decides whether you experience terror or awe. The degree to which you are in touch with what cannot be obliterated in you is the difference between falling and flying.
Incredible. I keep reading that last sentence over and over. So resonant.