No Agenda

What does it take to be faithful enough in the unfolding of our lives that we let go of our tight grip, our hurry, our trying to control... and fall into letting ourselves be the kind of person we long to be? How might we learn that life will always surprise us, and instead of trying to remove the surprise let ourselves be brought to life by it? And what might it be to lessen the grip of 'hurry' - one of the dominant stories of our times - and discover the depth and meaningfulness of what and who is already around us?

This week's Turning Towards Life is hosted as always by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.

Turning Towards Life, a week-by-week conversation inviting us deeply into our lives, is a live 30 minute conversation hosted by Justin Wise and Lizzie Winn of Thirdspace.  Find us on FaceBook to watch live and join in the lively conversation on this episode. You can find videos of every episode, and more about the project on the Turning Towards Life website, and you can also watch and listen on Instagram, YouTube, and as a podcast on Apple, Google, Amazon Music and Spotify.

Here's our source for this week:

No Agenda

Don’t do more, hide less.
Transparency is forthright
but goes with the flow.
Embrace change, and allow it
to be different than you thought:
surprise, you will not be
painting outside this afternoon.
Stop outlining. Progress pirouettes,
and pivots on a dime, supple and agile,
not just ploddingly focused forward.
Let the rain pour down on your plans.
Relax into the poetry
of dry earth quenching its thirst.
Be unabashed, unhurried,
able to simply listen with no agenda.
Be meanderingly happy;
content if the story takes a detour,
or diverges the long way around.
Only good can go on, so there’s
no reason to be impatient with passivity,
just savor each morsel of life as it comes.
Know, feel, and embrace the expanse,
and serve better by erasing
obstruction and artifice.
Shine your unselfed better self
with equanimity
and bolster others
with your derived
strength and clarity.
Remove every hurt or deception
with your minuscule
grain of mustard seed faith
moving mountainous impediments
by sending them slinking off,
tail between their legs, ashamed.
All while sitting in this rocking chair,
watching the water gushing in rivulets,
drumming out a palliative cadence,
soothing and serenading every heart here
with rounds in three part harmony,
in a repeating refrain
full of friendship,
restitution, and joy.

by Polly Castor

Photo credit: Unsplash / martha dominguez de gouveia