Lessons learned in love.

Once, the song "Let It Be" was, for me, a song about me and my best friend. Later, it became the wisdom of my calculus teacher and the beauty I felt at the end of high school. Now, it's a song about reconciliation, the sun rising, and things falling into place in life, whether because or in spite of our best efforts and detailed plans. I love the way I keep coming back to this song, at once a relic of the past and an instrument of the present and future.

The lesson of letting it be is not an easy one to learn, especially for the high-achieving American. We are raised in a culture where most of us are taught to make (not let) the world around us happen. We are raised to chase dreams, make grades, climb ladders. Just imagine if we were taught to listen, be reflective, say prayers.

My life has recently been faced with a tragedy in which I truly have no control. One particular relationship has simply lost something of its luster. Whether there is a chance for that certain sheen to be restored remains to be seen. And if this chance exists, the first steps will be moving on, having patience, and respecting time - no grades to make or ladders to climb; no "doing" to speak of. If that lost luster is to be seen again, it will be something new, born of plenty of time and space.

And it is for this reason that "Let It Be" has become that anthem about reconciliation, the sun rising, and things falling into place in life, whether because or in spite of our best efforts and detailed plans. I love the way I keep coming back to this song, at once a relic of the past and an instrument of the present and future. I hope to come back to some other things too.