“To live fully is to let go and die with each passing moment, and to be reborn in each new one.”

– Jack Kornfield

Last night after dinner, I made my daily trip to the garden to gather the vegetables.  I just love this time of year — a magical time when free food just appears out of the soil and adds color and flavor to our life.  I have learned many things in the thirty years that I have gardened — when to plant, how to mulch against weeds, how to support the plants so they don’t break under the weight of the fruits they produce.  August is the season of commitment for vegetable gardeners.  Without daily picking, the plants would soon be burdened with too  much produce, and all their energy would be consumed by the ripe peppers or tomatoes that have stayed too long and now threaten to weaken the parent who birthed them.

I walked from the garden and spotted my neighbor, raking dead grass created by the summer’s heat wave and hoping to allow the roots below to take in some water and regenerate some green.

As she raked and we chatted, we talked about her hope for the green grass to return; and in the midst of it all, she shouted, “REBIRTH!”  That’s what she was hoping for; but in order for that to happen, she would need to remove the thatch that was weighing down the grass and allow it enough wiggle room to send out new growth.  I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat myself today — when the same theme keeps popping up everywhere I go, sooner or later I have to pay attention.  It seems that it is time for me to focus on rebirth.

Just yesterday, someone shared a story of long-term struggle and pain that ended with the courage to let go.   The result was resolution, healing, and peace.  She now carries the perspective she gained into her work with others who have trouble letting go of the burdens that weigh them down.  Another friend spoke about being in the aftermath of letting go and expressed her gratitude to the understanding friends who had stood by her during the process.  I think of the times in my own life when I held onto familiar pain in order to avoid facing the unknown world that might lie beyond letting go.

As my children have grown and left the nest, I often find myself reminding them that the best thing about life is that it is always changing.  What seems insurmountable today may transform tomorrow into something manageable and move from there to a place of awareness that results in unimaginable growth.  I’ve seen it happen again and again, and still my first reaction is to hold on and resist change.

I am not saying that we should all run around and bounce from one thing to another.  Change simply for the sake of change has no depth.  I am not saying that we should let go of the things that resonate deeply with us and are part of our truth, simply to avoid conflict or pain.  There are parts of life that stay with us; and that is a good thing, because they hold the recurring lessons that help us to become who we truly are.  There are times, however, when we cling to old ideas and patterns and routines that simply have become a burden; and carrying them only weighs us down.  I think of my hobby of rock-collecting and trying to hold as many stones as I can on my walk back home.  What happens when my hands are full and I come upon a beautiful stone that calls out to me?  The answer is simple when we talk about stones — I look at the ones already in my hand and find one I can put down so that the beautiful one can take its place.

What is easy with the stones seems more complicated in the less tangible parts of life.  How often do we hold onto old patterns that have become burdens and fail to recognize that letting go could open the door to something beautiful?  Why is it that we always focus on the loss of letting go rather than the potential of being transformed?  I will pay attention to all these messages about letting go and rebirth.  What is there in my life that weighs me down and fills my arms so that I am not free to embrace the beauty that lies around the next bend in the road?  Is there something that you are clinging to today that once was a blessing and now has become a burden?  Embrace the memory of the blessing, release the burden with love, and open your heart to rebirth.  You will never be the same — but the best thing about life is that it’s always changing.