Gelassenheit

The Benedictines embrace it.

The Amish live by it.

The Buddhists commit to it.

Islam demands it.

It is the silent space of spirit

and the heart-wrought home of soul.

It is the breath of God.

It is enveloping presence

of the great ground of being.

Gelassenheit

Submit.

Accept.

Go with the flow.

Suppress ego,

banish pride,

cast self aside,

disdain hurly burly,

and listen, listen.

Let silence speak

and in humility

pray, and pray again,

speaking only when you're spoken to.

Gelassenheit

            Yeah! Right!

            More easily said than done.

            It goes against the grain;

            requires work and close attention.

            It smacks of cowardice;

            and escape from duty.

            It seems a way to avoid issues;

            a cringing retreat.

            Weren't we meant to strive

            and prove our worth

            and pull our weight

            to show our faith?

Gelassenheit

But submission

is far from cowardly retreat.

Acceptance of the way things are

is not excuse for sloth.

Clear sight leads to knowing,

and knowing shows what needs be done.

            In gelassenheit we see the God

            that walks ahead

            and on the track he marks for us

            we may also walk.

Gelassenheit


© Karel Reus