Beginnings and Endings

Allow, by Dana 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.

I meditate in the quiet sanctuary of a magical brick portico tucked away in the northwest corner of the back of the home I am selling; the home I have lived in for 20 years. There’s a rustling in the blackberry bushes that separate my property from my neighbors. Birds? Squirrels? Is it the den of coyotes we know live back there? Is there a rabbit warren nestled in the rock walls? So many inhabitants of this property, so why do I call it “mine”?

This home, that our family has lived in, restored, cherished for twenty years, is no longer ours. All the plants, animals, rocks, fruit from the trees, will be “owned” by a new family who fell in love with this enchanted property the way we once did. There will be an exchange, a transfer of money, and a payment for our stewardship.

Again, I remind myself, I am not the “owner”. Everything that has been given me has been a gift. And we were granted this gift by forces unknown and unseen, that recognized we would allow this house to shine.

This “regifting” or letting go of this house is a transition of ending and beginning. In life we phase out and into the next level. Are we going with the flow or resisting?

I saw proudly displayed in a storefront last week a tee-shirt that stated “RESIST”. It’s trendy to resist. It’s a movement. But I must consider carefully what it is to resist.

I have, instead, been practicing acceptance and allowance. This process has been difficult-selling or giving away most of my belongings, blessing the property and every sentient being who has entered its perimeter, waxing nostalgically about the parties, the work we’ve done, the memories.

And then, despite tears, pangs of sadness and heavy lifting, we just LET GO.

On the precipice of something unknown, we take the leap.

Say goodbye to the known and welcome in the next chapter-a new beginning.