LET GO

“Let go!”

“Let go!!!” the Swing guide shouted as we clutched the rope of the large swing, high above the rice paddies of Bali.
“Let go!” he said again, as the swing carried us over the vast green expanse, pendulum swinging, higher, higher, higher.

It seemed terrifying.

And then we did.

The feeling? Freeing. Exhilarating. Profoundly liberating.

Years ago, I had a similar experience in Lake Tahoe, stepping off a cliff on a zip line, carabiner secured, soaring across a steep canyon.
“Let go.” Two simple words. Two of the most powerful, transformative words I know.

LET GO.

I find myself often traversing canyons — canyons of the mind, canyons of the heart, nature’s canyons — deep, seemingly endless. Yet each step, each descent and ascent, offers lessons in patience, resilience, grace, and gratitude. Life teaches these lessons as we move fully through experience, even when circumstances appear ugly or unpredictable.

“Let go” is an invitation to stop resisting.

It is often so difficult for us, human beings, to surrender. We clutch control as though it were ours to hold. We plan, we strategize, we orchestrate — all in an effort to manage the unmanageable. As an old Yiddish proverb says: Man plans, God laughs.

“Let go and let be,” the mindfulness teachers say.
John Lennon reminds us: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

Letting go makes space to be: present, available, open-hearted, accepting. Accepting whatever reality gives, receptive to the flow of events as they unfold. From that space of non-resistance, we can choose our response to a circumstance, a person, a challenge.

For me, if attachment sneaks in unnoticed, the universe often delivers a swift wake-up call. Only when I notice it can I release it. This is the Lesson of These Times: detachment, surrender, letting go, and letting be.

We so often cling to resentments, regrets, and blame — kneading wounds like dough when forgiveness and peace are available with a simple, courageous release.

When we let go, a new world emerges. Guidance arrives. Intuition, guardian spirits, or the wisdom of the Universe itself leads us, if we are willing to listen. This listening — profound, receptive, sacred — is what I call Sacred Listening.

It is not easy. Leaving what is familiar, predictable, and certain is always a hero’s journey. Like Frodo leaving the Shire, we step across the chasm of the known into the unfamiliar, into uncertainty. And yet, life demands this courage. Circumstances shift constantly. The world evolves. It is time to let go — to invent ourselves anew, to respond to the call that life extends to each of us, from moment to moment to precious moment.

Acknowledging what we clutch is the first step — and then, through awareness of what we have been so desperately holding on to, we can release: a relationship that no longer serves, a way of being or relating that has outlived its usefulness, a strategy, or a plan that no longer fits.

Six weeks ago, my daughter experienced a sudden upheaval in her life. Within fifteen minutes, everything shifted. She asked to live with us — seeking sanctuary, space to regain balance. Initially, I resisted inwardly. Work, deadlines, and a course I was taking, a course I was leading, and a course I was creating. And yet, her presence brought new life into our family, opening doors to connection and love that had long remained closed. And, she did beautiful inner work, in a place of safety, where she shed aspects of her old life, and “beingness,” and walked through the next, liminal space, into her next life.

Then last week, I flew to Philadelphia to film my Evergreen course on Sacred Listening. I awoke with a red, puffy, dry face — a physical reaction to stress. Having taken on too much in too short a time, too many commitments, the universe was informing me it was time to let go of a way I had been working. While I filmed the course with the videographer, my inspired energy was not present. And, seeing the output, it was undoubtedly a “no-go.” It did not represent me, nor my work in the world, nor my profound commitment to others to contribute to them in a vital, meaningful way, the art and practice of sacred listening. Life was telling me, once again: let go. Slow way down. Release attachment. Trust the unfolding. Even more than that, listen to the occurrence as a divine gift. As Mark Nepo says in today’s reading (October 22) of The Book of Awakening, “Often what seems tragic, if looked at long enough, reveals itself as part of a larger transformation.”

I like that very much. It’s a mantra for these times. It’s a stand for these times. It’s a prayer for these times.

Can you trust enough to let go of how things should be — how you, the world, or others should be? Can you cultivate gratefulness for the occurrence of the world, even when it’s not pretty? Only then can you respond with presence, clarity, and life-giving energy.

Leap of Faith

Life calls us repeatedly to let go. To cross our own deep canyons. To step out onto the path of uncertainty, trusting that the bridge will appear beneath our feet — as if the universe itself conspires to support our courage.

Where is letting go being called forth in your life?
What must you release to step fully into your next chapter?
Where is simplicity, grace, and trust being invited?

Poetic Reflection

Let the Path Come to You

Let the Path come to you.
It will, you know. You do not have to seek it or strive for it
or exhaust yourself,
or push yourself or another.

You just have to find
what you love in the inner heart of your heart
and follow that path.

Like the Great Blue, stretching its wings and becoming a straight arrow —
long neck, long beak, long tail —
all aligned, soaring northwards toward home,
effortlessly lifted by the Spirit Wind, wings singing in invisible air.

All you need to follow, all you need to hear,
is your path to being alive.

Are you ready?

Will you take the first step onto your path?
I promise the rest will follow.

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With love, I invite you to become a paid subscriber to my Substack, which will allow you to read my book serialized as a pre-release to its publication. “The Heart of Sacred Listening: The Hidden Key to Transforming Your Relationships, Your Leadership and Your Life” will provide you with access to—

Having your relationships work — your relationship with yourself, with another, or others, and with Life itself.

Creating a life and a new future worth living.

The paid subscription also offers three Q&A sessions with me along the way of your inner adventure and development, before the book’s launch on April 28, 2026.

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