After spending most of the year together, I was preparing our final Academy session. For the participants, this would be their graduation. For their supporters, this would be their only exposure to the program. I wanted it to be perfect. There was only one problem:
It was out of my control.
I had planned, purchased, prepared, and practiced. In the end, however, it would be what it would be.
In my anxiety, I recalled a time when I served as Director of Worship and Music. I had planned, prepared, and practiced the Christmas Eve service, and the result was mediocre at best. Nothing clicked. It lumbered on and on. I later apologized to a friend for…I don’t know…whatever happened. He simply said,
“We never know how it will turn out.”
Uncertainty is the constant. Despite our efforts, we never control the outcome, yet, in a mix of fear and desire, we cling to it. We’re good at painting all sorts of scenarios should this go wrong or that not work. We double our efforts and diligently double-check our lists. And still,
There are so few things we can truly influence and even fewer that we can control.
We need to let go of the outcome. Moving from holding on to letting go may sound like giving up, but the experience can be liberating. As we open ourselves us to what unfolds around us, we are more in the moment that is than the moment we had hoped for. We trust it and give it our best.
In this time of holiday planning and preparation, may we season our diligence with the grace of uncertainty, forgiving missteps and enjoying peculiarities. And may our hearts be open to not only what is desired, but also to what will be.
Quote
There is grace beyond all our plans. Jack Kornfield
Web
Read this excerpt on the wisdom of insecurity from Jack Kornfield’s book, The Wise Heart (read now)
I had planned, purchased, prepared, and practiced. In the end, however, it would be what it would be.
In my anxiety, I recalled a time when I served as Director of Worship and Music. I had planned, prepared, and practiced the Christmas Eve service, and the result was mediocre at best. Nothing clicked. It lumbered on and on. I later apologized to a friend for…I don’t know…whatever happened. He simply said,
“We never know how it will turn out.”
Uncertainty is the constant. Despite our efforts, we never control the outcome, yet, in a mix of fear and desire, we cling to it. We’re good at painting all sorts of scenarios should this go wrong or that not work. We double our efforts and diligently double-check our lists. And still,
There are so few things we can truly influence and even fewer that we can control.
We need to let go of the outcome. Moving from holding on to letting go may sound like giving up, but the experience can be liberating. As we open ourselves us to what unfolds around us, we are more in the moment that is than the moment we had hoped for. We trust it and give it our best.
In this time of holiday planning and preparation, may we season our diligence with the grace of uncertainty, forgiving missteps and enjoying peculiarities. And may our hearts be open to not only what is desired, but also to what will be.
Quote
There is grace beyond all our plans. Jack Kornfield
Web
Read this excerpt on the wisdom of insecurity from Jack Kornfield’s book, The Wise Heart (read now)
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