How Letting Go Renews Love and Life…
Recently, I celebrated my 30th anniversary. Over the years, my husband and I have shared times of deep joy and deep sorrow. We have shared in the grief of losing loved ones and in the comfort of our faith and friendship. Each step of the way, we faced moments in which we were required to re-commit to each other. We had to deepen our faith in the journey of all that love was offering us. This love has blossomed and is still blossoming.
I’ve come to realize that the same is true about the spiritual journey. It also requires continually recommitting to love, and allowing it to blossom in our hearts. It takes devotion, renewal, and an opening of ourselves to grace. This intimacy and love we share with the Divine is always growing, deepening with trust, and with renewed faith.
Spring Is a Time of Renewal
Take a moment to reflect upon your long-term relationships. What are the gifts that have blossomed from these relationships with others, with the Divine, and with yourself?
In all of our relationships, there are times when we must let go of what is not serving the relationship, in order to allow for more growth and life. We must be willing to constantly meet the now, and as Brother David Steindl-Rast reminds us, this is a place for great gratitude. The present moment is always offering us the opportunity to recommit to love and to renew our love.
How can this month be a time of renewal for you?
- Can you put down what is no longer serving you—the stories you carry from the past or the pain that lingers in your heart?
- How are you being called to quiet your mind and tune into a sense of inner spaciousness?
- Practice consciously setting aside what is no longer serving you. Imagine you are climbing up the mountain of your life, and you need to make the load lighter. See yourself releasing what is weighing you down, and feel yourself getting lighter.
Colette Lafia is a San Francisco-based spiritual director, workshop and retreat facilitator, and adjunct faculty member at Mercy Center Burlingame. She is also a part-time school librarian. Colette is the author of Seeking Surrender: How a Trappist Monk Taught Me to Trust and Embrace Life, and Comfort & Joy: Simple Ways to Care for Ourselves and Others. She has a passion for helping people connect more deeply with the presence of the sacred in their daily lives and blogs about it at www.colettelafia.com. To receive Colette’s FREE 21-Day Gratitude Challenge ebook, click here.