Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative Prayer : Letting Go
I find that in my own life it’s very difficult to let go of some things. My mind seems to make the connection that in letting go I may somehow be losing a part of myself. Whether what I hold on to is beneficial or not, it is mine, and it is safe.
This “security blanket of commonalities” does nothing but hinder me from experiencing the Divine reality for which I am intended. Although I know this, when I pray, I find myself so often sinking back into what I’ve decid
ed to hold onto versus what God has placed in my hand. I settle for my reality because, my reality is the reality which I control. Control is a big part of my life. When I feel in control, I feel safe. Feeling safe is a big part of my life.
While this is not a political blog, and I am not necessarily an Obama fan, he made a very beautiful statement in one of his speeches. Obama states “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” I see an image of myself with a white knuckled hand clenched firmly around every aspect of my life, refusing to relinquish my grip, jailing myself to my own small unsatisfying world. When I deny unclenching, I deny the Divine the ability to pull me from my reality into His. His reality more fully exists… in His reality I more fully exist. I have confined myself to my reality when I refuse to let go of what I am familiar with. My reality is small, my reality is selfish, and more than these, my reality is lonely.
It is only when I start to let go that I start to let in and then in turn… start to be let in. When I speak of being let in I am talking of it in the most full sense. I am let into the truth and beauty that rests in every aspect of life. Finding the Divine within the mortal, the infinite within the finite. He who offers a new reality offers an open hand if I only unclench my fist. So how do I let go… the answer is simple but not easy. I sit and let go. I simply sit and let it fade… over, and over, and over, and over again. Trusting the more we open our hands, the more He will grab hold, and when He grabs hold… hold on.
See ya,
Chase Brumfield