My family and I
love the Harry Potter books and movies. I remember fighting with Kim over who
would read The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets when
they first came out. She had started them because she saw her students’ noses
in them constantly, so she had to check them out.
There was a scene
near the end of The Sorcerer’s Stone movie where Harry, Ron and Hermione
snuck past the three-headed dog. The professors set up a series of roadblocks
to prevent anyone from trying to get the stone. One of the roadblocks was a
tightening vine of sorts that squeezed them and threatened to strangle them
until they were unconscious or dead. (Hardly any good guys died in the early
movies, but we didn’t know that, right?)
Of course it was
Hermione who discovered the remedy to the strangling vine. Leave it to her.
Most of the time, she was the one who, behind the scenes either directly or
indirectly, guided and coached her two friends to safety. First Hermione and
then Harry relaxed and fell to the floor below and in doing so, fell to safety.
The trick was to
Relax and Let Go.
Let’s think about
that for a moment.
Three kids, innocent
like most kids should be, fairly inexperienced in the ways of life and in the
ways of the world. Three kids who are in the death grip of some sort of vine
who won’t let them go and threatens to squish them to death or at the least,
prevent them from breathing.
And the brainy kid
suggests that they should Relax and Let Go. Sure! Right! Okay!
Seems
counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? To be in the firm grasp of . . . panic . . . pain . . . sorrow only
to . . . Relax and Let Go? Really?
This morning as I
did my morning meditation, the passage I read dealt with being still (Relax).
In the midst of noise and panic, in the midst of chaos and confusion, the
reader was urged to be still (Relax) and to trust that we are in good hands
(Let Go). Again, somewhat counter-intuitive.
And a dear friend
sent me a text with the same thought from a different angle. It dealt with
trust (Let Go) and to have faith (Relax and Let Go).
So, I get two
messages on the same topic. As Gibbs says on NCIS and as Alex Cross says
in James Patterson novels, “No such thing as coincidence.” I really don’t
believe in coincidence. Maybe once upon a time back when I was a kid, but too
much has happened in my life to continue believing it.
But it is
counter-productive, isn’t it? When hurt, we want to hurt back- sometimes doubly
so. When things don’t go well and fall apart in front of our eyes, we panic. We
frantically rush to correct, to make amends, to . . . And I’m not saying
necessarily that we can’t or shouldn’t correct or make amends, but before we
do, maybe we should close our eyes and breathe. Maybe we should fight the
tendency to tighten up, to wall off (last week’s post), to panic and tense up.
Instead, maybe we
should shut our eyes and breathe, take a moment, pause. Maybe we should Relax
and Let Go. Just maybe. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
I have to admit, I
am excited for the release of my new book, Caught
in a Web. It officially launches on Thursday,
April 26, but you can preorder it today and save 10% if you use the Promo
code PREORDER2018 at http://bit.ly/2GtdsXL
If you’d like to
know a little bit about the book, watch this 30 Second Book Trailer at:
If you want to
know what others have thought of the book so far, you can watch this one minute
video at: https://spark.adobe.com/video/12jP26B9bxtLB
You will notice some very nice reviews.
For those of you
in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area, I am doing three Caught in a Web book sale and signing events. You can find me at:
April 28
Porter Library in Stafford from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
May 5
England Run Library in Stafford/Fredericksburg from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
May 12 Salem
Church Library in Spotsylvania/Fredericksburg from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Feel free to
connect with me on Social Media:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe