Last month I reflected on the topic of “letting go”. I think I’d like to go a bit deeper and share some material that has inspired me in my own journey to become free from negative thoughts and emotions.
I recently picked up a bundle of twine in the laundry shed that had been tossed aside from an aborted landscaping design. It was completely knotted up and tangled, on top of some tools.
Perhaps just because I am that kind of obsessive compulsive person that sometimes has to drop everything and focus on minutiae, I put the dirty laundry down and began to untangle the snarled twine. I figured it’d take me about 30-40 minutes and it would give me a sense of accomplishment-the twine was so pretty and useful, why should I throw it away? After standing there for almost an hour, feeling hot, frustrated, covered with mosquito bites and late for a lunch date with friends, I was forced to put the project aside and what you see on the bottom of this page is where I left off! What I am getting out of this process is a great metaphor for my own spiritual development.
You see, finding meaning in the mundane tasks is what makes my life full of profound moments that teach and inspire me.
I have a small paperback “Prayers of the Cosmos” ( Meditations on the Aramaic words of Jesus, translated with commentary by Neil Douglas Klotz, c.1990, forward by Matthew Fox). In a chapter titled “Letting Go, Heartbeat by Heartbeat” are several phrases translated from The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. They read:
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt.
Erase the inner marks our failures make, just as we scrub our hearts of others’ faults.
Untangle the knots within so that we can mend our hearts’ simple ties to others.
Re-establish our slender ties to others.
Forgive our hidden past, the secret shames, as we consistently forgive what others hide.
Lighten our load of secret debts as we relieve others of their need to repay.
As you were reading any of the above phrases, did this line come to mind?
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
The ancient Aramaic language apparently has many possible interpretations. Failures, mistakes, accidental offenses, frustrated hopes or tangled threads imply that some kind of restoration or mending is needed.
Where are your knots?
How can you untangle them and mend your hearts’ simple ties to others? As I sit on my little sofa patiently working through the knotted twine, I meditate on this chapter, making it personal. I’m still untangling and letting go, but it’s getting better all the time! I wish you ease in your own process! We are all in this together-and sometimes the knots make us feel strangled. Sometimes we just think “let’s cut the knot loose”, as in the well-known Gordian Knot Dilemma-but is that really working it out, or taking a short cut to glory? LOL. That’s for you to decide.
Until Next Time, Let the Light find you! Xoxox Annie
Comentários