Click for audio: Letting Go and Moving Forward
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say; ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour” John 12:27).
In this scene, as depicted in the Gospel of John, Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem and become the world’s most famous martyr. According to the Gospel accounts, he knew what lay ahead. Despite the warnings of his closest advisors, and despite his own uneasiness about this monumental decision, he decided to press forward.
It is at this moment that John places in his text an agricultural metaphor bearing a significant message to anyone desiring major change. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” In other words, if you want to experience greater good in your life, you must be willing to let go of that aspect of yourself that created your current experience.
There is a basic metaphysical concept that says, if you are at point A in your life and you want to be at point B, then you must begin to examine what anchors you to point A. If you want change then you yourself must be willing to undergo a change, to “die” to the person that built your current surroundings and give birth to a person that can sustain the conditions of life you desire.
Some will argue that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Never mind that the Discovery Channel’s Myth Busters proved this cliché wrong. Old dogs can learn new tricks. The real question here is why anyone would choose to define themselves as an old dog, unless, of course, they don’t want to go to the trouble of learning any new tricks. “Don’t you understand? I’m an old dog, and it’s a well-established, cosmic law that old dogs can’t learn new tricks, so don’t talk to me about changing myself. It’s too late.”
Well, the soul-troubling truth is that it’s not too late; the principle illustrated in the wheat metaphor of Jesus remains intact. Where do you want to go? What must you let go of to get there? Answering these two questions is the first step in the right direction.
Only when dancers can “lean into the pain” do they develop the flexibility and agility the dance requires.
In my earlier life, although it would be difficult to detect it today, i was a member of a modern dance troupe. Before each actual practice there was the warm up which was essentially practicing the kenesthetic elements that composed the movements the choreography would require. So of the movements were relatively easy requiring stretches that required little stress on the body. Others however were quite stressful and even painful to attempt. In those moments of musculal stress ones normal reaction was to back or lean away from the pain thus attempting to avoid physical distress. Sensing the natural resistance, the clinician would challenge us to “lean into the pain.” Only when dancers can lean into pain can the ever develop the flexibility and agility the face requires. This, likewise is a spiritual metaphor for Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem “leaning into” the difficult confrontations that lay ahead of him. It was an intentional act based on the faith that there were inner powers that would strengthen him.
Great illustration, Allen. Thanks for sharing this.