Greetings!
When my soul-friend died in February, I picked up Henri Nouwen’s Letter of Consolation, which was written to his own father after his mother died. In it, Nouwen speaks of letting go as a lifetime practice. He makes a startling assertion that taking pictures, even of festive occasions, is an act of letting go. I had seen picture-taking as a way of keeping memories, but now I see it as a spiritual practice. However we mark an occasion, we are at some level acknowledging that it will not happen again.
Although we usually think of “loving our neighbor” as an act of inclusion and connection, Nouwen reminded me that letting go is also an act of love. It makes space for new relationships, new ideas, and new possibilities. Parents know that. Parents pour themselves into the challenging tangle of family and child-rearing and then they must let their children go to become who they are in the world. Parents may also grieve hopes we didn’t know we had (like becoming grandparents). Again, it’s a practice of letting go out of love.
How to do that will be the focus of my upcoming online retreat this Saturday from 12-3pm Eastern Time. While we can’t clear out a lifetime of unfinished business, we will offer some practical ways to make space for what comes next.
Sincerely,
Marjory Bankson
