the time has come: release, retrieve, receive

It all seemed rather eerie today.

An early email announced a friend’s relinquishment of a writing group he has been facilitating, with the subject THE TIME HAS COME. Then, the replies from various group members, sporting the subject RE: THE TIME HAS COME…

Then, a voice message from the woman who owns the place I’ve been living in (and wanting very much to leave, to the point that I have been packed and ready to go for months). Her opening statement? THE TIME HAS COME…

It wasn’t exactly the time decreed in Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter, in which the wily duo trick a bed of sweet, young oysters to their “last supper”…

“The time has come,” the walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings…”

Now, the time has come for all of us to shed the things that no longer nourish us, in favor of those that do. To leave what we’ve been wanting to leave — and arrive in new territory that we’ve been scouting for a lifetime (or more). As the Earth Herself churns and roils, so too are we asked to purge ourselves and our surroundings. If you are observant, you will see endings and beginnings all around you. Disconnects and new connects. Goodbyes and Hellos. New brooms sweeping out corners of our souls and our lives and our living rooms.

The time has come, my gentle friends, to Release, Retrieve, and Receive.

Release

Let go of anything that ties you up or holds you down. Like apron strings that hold your children too close for too long. Let go of those suitcases and backpacks crammed full of old hurts, unhealed wounds, unspoken words, unlived moments, and unfulfilled dreams. Just loosen your grasp and watch them float off into a shimmering sky. Release yourself from the walls that you’ve built between you and others, between you and yourself. The walls you created to protect your tender heart, fragile soul. Make a list of others’ rules and shoulds and have-tos, then tear up the list and write your own! Release your fears. The fear of being the wrong kind of anything, the fear of losing control, the fear of judgment, ridicule, or scorn. Release every fear and replace them now with love. Hold aloft a bouquet of feathery dandelions and release them to the wind. See how easily they scatter in all directions when you loosen your grip. When you loosen your grip and let go.

Retrieve

Go and get it! Dive in headfirst and swim farther than you ever swam before, and bring back what you’ve missed for so long. Return to your childhood home and pick up the long-forgotten memories. The ones buried under the others. Pick up the last box that sits dusty in the attic and pick up the treasures still lying inside. Grab on to that elusive chunk of your history and this time, don’t let it go. Parts of you lie littering the landscape, and it’s time that you retrieved them. Get back your spirit. Your joie de vivre. Your captivating smile. Go back and recover everything you left on the shelf. Hold it tight between your teeth. Hold it pressed to your heart. You lost it before. Don’t lose it again.

Receive

Offer someone the gift of giving to you. For once, let yourself be the one who receives. Receive a gift of helping hands, of food, of money, of love, of recognition. Sit back and accept a gift of tender loving care. Don’t argue, don’t refuse, don’t make excuses. Receive graciously and with gratitude. If you’ve always been a giver, now is the time for you to receive. Voice what you need. A car? A caress? Clothing? Connections? A friend? A kind word? Let down your defenses and your tough guy/tough gal exterior. Prepare to receive all that you deserve and know that it will be provided. Let go of your white-knuckled, stressed-out grasp on life and let your palms fill with overflowing abundance. Someone wants to help you receive. Drop your foolish pride and tell him or her you’re willing. Willing and ready to receive.

“The sun was shining on the sea
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright —
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.”

Want to read the entire verse from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There? Click here to go down the rabbit-hole.