Hold on loosely

I was walking in the West Parish Cemetery this weekend and amongst all the beautiful trees I saw this cluster of bright leaves.  It seemed a little early for them to turn so I took a closer look.  Many of the leaves on this tree were browning at the edges and here and there were these bright clusters of leaves looking all ready for their fall. 

Last week in classes we talked about how important it is to dream and imagine.  Gloria Steinham said, “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” 

I fully embrace the need to dream, to give ourselves time to imagine new ways of solving problems, relating to others and breaking free from our old paradigms. 

In the process of using our imaginations, we can generate new paths, new awareness about what’s important to us, and even new goals.  And yet…those goals themselves can become their own limiting boxes.  Which leads me to the 38 Special song, “Hold on Loosely.”  In the chorus they sing,
“So hold on loosely, but don’t let go.
If you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control.
Your baby needs someone to believe in,
And a whole lot of space to breathe in…
So hold on loosely, but don’t let go.
If you cling to tightly, your gonna lose it, you’re gonna lose control.”

Good advice for relationships, yes!  But also good advice for us.  Hold your dreams loosely.  Give them space to breathe and develop amidst all the twists and turns that come our way.  Which brings me back to my tree friend with the yellow leaves.  It had it’s mission.  It produced a crown full of gorgeous leaves.  But in the stress of our current climate, it made a minor course correction.  It let some of the leaves turn yellow in preparation for letting them go early.  And the tree will continue, not feeding what it can’t or shouldn’t sustain.  Once again, nature instructs us on how to work with the world’s natural rhythms.  Thank you, nature!

We, too, need to hold our dreams and plans loosely and be willing  to make adjustments.  Rigidity is perhaps the enemy.  As we learn to let go a bit, we develop the flexibility and openness to flow in ways we might never have imagined.  It's a discipline!  Oh how we love the illusion of control.  But we can keep our focus on the long-term goals and let go of our belief that there's only "one way" to get there.  We may find that even our most difficult obstacles shine a light on a new path.