Friday, April 20, 2018

Relax and Let Go


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


Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe