From getting to letting. For someone more familiar and comfortable with orchestrating, a wonderful euphemism for controlling, letting has become a practice into ease and peace.

What, you may wonder, is letting in the first place?

Letting is an access to allowing. A friend shared it perfectly inside of her relationship. “I just let him,” she said. “When my shoulders start to lift up and I cringe at the way the dishes are being done or the way he’s talking silly with the kids, I breathe, and I let.”

Amanda Palmer, the breakthrough musical artist, and formally the 10 foot bride in Harvard Square, devotes a whole Ted Talk to her story of crowdsourcing her music career. She ends by asking the audience to reframe the question: “Rather than ask how to get people to pay for music. Let’s ask, how do we let them pay for music?”

Getting is what we are used to here in the U.S. We get it done. We get people to do stuff. We get them to pay us. We go to the store and get what we need. We do a lot of getting. Getting is okay. We need getting in our lives. But I’m ready for some letting.

Letting out a breath.

Letting tears flow.

Letting someone help me.

Letting snow take its time melting.

Letting a pause so something new can arise.

Letting in.

Letting go.

Experiment with letting today. What do you notice? What becomes available when we let, rather than get?