Flowing Stream

Doing the Best We Can – Part 3 – Let it Be

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

~ Lao Tzu

Press play to hear an audio enhancement as you read.

 

Regardless of how successful we may become in personally managing the universe, life always has other plans, which often disrupt our own. What then?

All of us are different. If you are working towards saving the planet, that is a valid experience for you, through which you will grow. Someone else may have a different perspective; they are just watching and laughing at the insanity of it all. No one is right or wrong. We can’t invalidate any experience. Ultimately, all of us are here to grow through experience, by walking exactly where our feet are.

The arena for experience is always here. And we are all, always, fulfilling the primary intention of consciousness which is to ever more fully be itself through the experience of itself. Through it all – no matter what happens – we are fulfilling that intention to grow, to evolve, to be more whole. If we lose the thread of that under the assault of “bad news,” just pause to notice that you are breathing.



Breath is life and life is orchestrating consciousness. You are still alive and you are still here, which means that you are growing and evolving. What’s happening may not match what you expect or want, but instead of resisting, complaining, or resigning yourself to something being “wrong,” just watch what’s going on as a detached observer, by being wakeful in the here and now of true reality. This moment and this attitude is the only way to find hope.

Everything is a happening of consciousness, politically, economically, environmentally, you name it. Everyone is handling life in their own unique ways. What’s important is who you choose to be in relationship to the happenings of life that come your way.

You can be reactive, thinking it’s horrible and that it should be different. But it is the way it is. To say that it shouldn’t be this way just makes you crazy, looking for someone to blame and, if your suffering becomes extreme enough, eventually blaming God. But you are God, in that sense. You are the creator of your experience because of your choices, who you choose to be.

Stormy Night

In the Beatles song, Let it Be, Paul McCartney sang, “And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me.” Yes, the moon is still there, somewhere, reflecting the light of the sun. And the sun will rise on its own, without our help. Life continues, in sorrow and in joy.

Imagine what might happen if we adopted this attitude – let it be – towards every aspect of our lives. Would that create apathy, indifferent heartlessness, compassionless inaction? For those who haven’t accepted this way, yes, that’s the expectation. For those who’ve embraced acceptance, the opposite is true.

Acceptance, the kind of which we’re discussing, connects us to the Divine. Because … that’s what the Divine is doing! Connected this way, we immediately access the wisdom of the Divine, which guides us into right action. After all, we can’t imagine the Divine is lazy! However we conceive of it, whatever intelligent power is sustaining life throughout the billion simultaneous universes, isn’t sleeping on the job. The coordination is impossibly complex and perhaps just wise enough to orchestrate the details of our lives, should we allow it.




John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” He was saying exactly the same thing that Lao Tzu said, centuries earlier:
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

Calm Night

As the craziness of the human world becomes more obvious and intrusive, we can remind ourselves of this merging of ancient and modern wisdom and remember to “let it be,” no matter what is happening, and to discover what right action is in the moment, because we are connected to the source of all intelligence.




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2 replies
  1. Phyl Graham
    Phyl Graham says:

    Just perfect for me right now!
    This morning I asked the question and now comes the answer.
    Can’t believe I am the only one to score on this one!

    Reply

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