A tale is told about the Buddha, Gautama (563-483BC), the Indian prince and spiritual leader whose teachings founded Buddhism. This short story illustrates that every one of us has the choice whether or not to take personal offense from another person’s behavior. It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry. The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, “If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift: The giver of the gift or the person who refuses to accept the gift?” “The giver,” said the group after a little thought. “Any fool can see that,” added the angry stranger. “Then it follows, does it not,” said the Buddha, “Whenever a person tries to abuse us or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings.”
The Advent is the time to ‘let it go’ of anything that stops one from encountering God and neighbor. Each human being is unique and has a fair share of joys and sorrows, struggles and accomplishments but importantly every human being has a story to tell. There is no human being who has an insignificant story because each story is unique and important for the person in the story. It is normal for us to ponder on those characters in the story both protagonists and antagonists, both positive and negative events in life. Our story becomes real only when all these characters play their role actively. Hence, when they play their role in our lives, our lives become more real and pragmatic with all the experiences it brings to the equation. But always remember that the storyteller is the person on whom the story is written. That person controls how a storyline has to happen or how a story has to be narrated. The storyteller has the complete monopoly over the story of his/her life. The storyteller can keep the character or just let go of the character so that the story of life can go on. There is ample time for the story to be completed. The story is completed only when we leave this world to the netherworld.
Let no one control your life. Someone else can control your life only if you allow them to do so. Let our past, present, and future not control us if we want to grow freely as the children of God. Freedom comes from within each one of us because we hold the key to the freedom and happiness. When we hang on something that has passed or someone that has hurt us, it is hard for us to move forward because we tend to focus on something or someone always hence ‘stuck in life’ situation. This situation comes only when we allow ourselves to be controlled by something or someone. Letting go is for the benefit of oneself so that a person can at last move forward. It is to benefit the storyteller and not to benefit the characters in the story. So the story becomes original and without anyone’s influence.
If we are carrying a past baggage and not allowing it let go, the baggage becomes heavier and slows us down. The longer we carry the slower we become. This will show on our physical bodies because baggage is heavier to carry hence we are tired. It can also have serious consequences on our psychological and physical health. In order for the story to move forward, the storyteller has to make some drastic and hard choices to let go of those characters who continually destroy the authentic flow of the story. The choice is yours because you control your life story. Characters appear and go but you remain to the end of time. You are the alfa and omega of the story of your life. Let it go off the things that create a negative impact and slow you down.
How do I let go? Ask yourself, does this character in the story help me build my story or destroy the storyline? Does the negative feeling help me? Do they serve any purpose in life? Do they work in your favor? Do they allow one to move forward? If you say no to all these questions, why am I still holding on to it, let it go and let you focus on important things that move you forward? One must distinguish what is important to one’s life and keep at it.
Once you have important things to focus, allow yourself to have an action plan as to what and how you want to achieve those important things with due priority to the super important things in life. The goal is not to be thinking about successfulness but to achieve what is important to your life and success will follow.
Start living in the present and living it now. This is the key to moving forward because we know the present well and we can work on any situation in present. Living in the now will make us positive persons in life because we look, listen and learn from the situations that come to us. We appreciate what is happening in the now.
Bring in more positive characters into your story because they will build on what you have started and never allow you fall by making use of you. They will allow you to be on the wheel to run your own life. Positive people bring positive vibes to life and positive vibes make your life cheerful. Good people will see your goodness and allow your build on that goodness. During this Advent, let us ask for the grace to ‘let go’. Only you know what you want to let go off. The choice is yours and Advent is the time to make that choice so that you can move forward.
