I'm going to do a little something that's outside of the norm.
That is,
I want us to enter into an exercise right now.
An exercise of letting go of resentment.
This practice was introduced to me by my spiritual teacher,
Jack Kornfield.
So I invite you to do something maybe a little different so that we can come in contact together with our own suffering and our own clinging and discover all over again that there is a cessation to this suffering and clinging.
I invite you to find a comfortable place to sit.
And I invite you to close your eyes or rest your gaze on an inanimate object.
A space and place that won't cause any distraction.
And I invite you to bring quiet attention to your body and to your breath.
I invite you now to bring into awareness a story,
A situation,
Feelings,
Reactions that causes suffering or a narrative to come up within you.
A story or a situation that needs to be let go of.
I invite you to name silently,
Gently the feelings and reactions that come up.
Anger,
Disappointment,
Shame,
Guilt,
Fear,
Grief.
Hold them compassionately as if holding this bead of compassion and continue to breathe.
And as you're holding this bead of compassion,
I ask you to gently ask yourself,
Do I have to continue to replay the story?
Do I have to hold on to these feelings?
Is it time to let go?
If it's not time to let go,
It's okay.
Give yourself compassion for not being ready to let go.
If now is the time to cease the replay of the story,
To let go of the feelings that you've held onto,
The reactions that have come up for you.
And say to yourself,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Softly repeating the phrase,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go.
Listen the body.
Feel any space that arises as you let go.
As you're sitting quietly,
Notice if any of the feelings or thoughts return.
It's okay if they return.
Maybe upon their returning,
They have less power.
They have less veracity.
Because you brought compassion to the story,
The situation,
The feelings,
The reactions.
And as the feelings and thoughts return,
Simply return,
Return to softening and repeating the phrase,
Letting go,
Letting go.
By letting go,
We have an opportunity to then open our hearts,
Our minds,
And our lives not only more deeply to ourselves,
But to the world.
So we ask God now to bless us,
Bless us in this process of recognizing suffering,
Realizing there is a cessation to our suffering,
And inviting us to a deeper understanding of who we are and how we are to live out our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.
And so we pray.
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers and half-truths and superficial relationships so that we may live deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger at injustice,
Oppression,
And the exploitation of people so that we may work for justice,
Freedom,
And peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain,
Rejection,
Hunger,
And war so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world so that we can do what others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness to all children and all who hurt and are in pain or live on the edge of poverty.
Poverty of relationships,
Poverty of connection,
Poverty of wholeness.
May God bless us as disciples of Jesus Christ to reach inward with deep compassion for and with ourselves so that we can more fully,
Holistically turn to the world around us and offer the bead of compassion and call the world to respond in praise.
For we pray these things in the name of the one who calls us together.
Amen.
