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So much speculation about 2012.  The ancient Mayan calendar predicts doomsday.  The fundamentalists talk about the rapture.  The New Agers call it a shift to a higher consciousness.  So what is it really?  I don’t think anyone really knows for sure but it’s hard not to notice that something is going on.

Whether it’s the global economy, the weather or political mayhem, most people would probably say that they are being affected by these changes on a personal level.  So why all the angst?  My guess is it’s because we don’t like change.  Who does?  It’s uncomfortable, it’s weird and it’s just plain annoying to not know the future.

Whatever it is that is going on, however, I like to think that we as people are being called to live more deeply.  What does this mean?  I think this means something different to everyone.  For me, it means to let go of things.  Things that may have been important once but just aren’t anymore.  A deeper trust in what is going on right now and responding to it with acceptance rather than anxiety.

I remember when my kids were babies, I couldn’t wait for them to walk.  And then when they did, I wished they were babies again.  Next, I couldn’t wait for them to talk in full sentences and then when they did, I wished them right back to silence.  Now that they are teen-agers, I find myself looking forward to them being self-sufficient and independent yet wondering how I will feel when they leave home and start their own lives.

I guess it will continue to be a mystery until I experience it for myself.  That seems to be the theme I go back to as I anticipate 2012 and the years that follow.  Accept the mystery that lies ahead while relishing in that which is going on right now.  Grieving that which was and anticipating the graceful movements that lie ahead.

I never think this kind of letting go and letting be will be easy but then again holding on to the past has never served me well either.  So is it new life or holding onto to things that are no longer fruitful?  I hope I choose new life.  I hope I’ve learned by now that the one thing that is permanent is change and I can either fight it or roll with it.  Boy, I hope I roll with it!

How about you?   Are you going to move along gracefully or fight it every step of the way?  What might you let go of today?

I hope as a people, a country and a world, we all do our individual parts in letting go of something (anything) that no longer holds purpose.  What will that be for you?  And how might you play a role in causing a wave of global grace around the world?  Yes, I think we are that powerful.  And yes, I think it’s a conscious choice we all have to make for ourselves.