I’ve been reading a book by Pema Chodron called When Things Fall Apart. She wrote it in 1997. I have the 20th anniversary edition. Here is a quote from page 9. (Some of you know how slowly I can read a book!)

“…the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”

I’ve tried to solve many things in my life. I like looking for and implementing a solution. I think I’m pretty good at it. But this perspective…that things don’t really get solved…makes a lot sense to me. No matter how something appears to be solved…there will come a day when erosion happens or a bulldozer shows up or another idea overrides everything. Things are not solved…they evolve. And in order to evolve, there must be some sort of breakdown. In this language, a falling apart.

This doesn’t make me anxious…quite the opposite. Knowing that this is how life works helps me to be more at ease. It stops me from over planning…trying to make sure I cover all the bases so it all works out the way I want it to. It stops me from believing that I’m in control. It puts me in charge of just one thing: letting there be room for all of it to happen.

I like that. I can do that. You can do it. It takes practice. We just have to remember the truth. It’s all about coming together and falling apart. Laced through it all, the possibility for healing, for wholeness, for resting in ease.

Ah.
Paula