1. It’s the human condition to hold onto that which has harmed us and allow it to disconnect us from others. 

2. Hurt and pain we have endured, and difficult moments we have experienced, invite disconnection. 

3. We keep records of these things and store them in our mind, body, and spirit. 

4. They are like books in a library. 

5. We read, study, and catalogue them with precision. 

6. We hold onto them as if precious jewels. 

7. They are things we feel we cannot live without, and so we carry them around, talk about them, and show them to others even when we do not mean to. 

8. They define us and shape our lives. 

9. They are the filters through which we drip-feed our interactions with others. 

10. God/the Holy is always inviting us to live in a bigger world; in bigger spaces. 

11. God/the Holy wants to prune our lives of all things causing us pain, suffering, and separation. 

12. God/the Holy approaches our life as though it were a garden. 

13. God/the Holy is an expert gardener. 

14. God/the Holy prunes our lives and clears out the dead stuff so that new things may flourish and have space to grow. 

15. God/the Holy is very intentional about what grows in our garden, so give up the weeds. 

16. Give up anything you have sown that has become a weed in your garden of life. 

17. God/the Holy comes to us open-handed to receive all those things we are wise to give up. 

18. Put down the burdens you have been carrying. 

19. When we give up our burdens, God/the Holy also puts them down. 

20. The hands of God/the Holy are only full when we are being offered a gift: God/the Holy delights in giving us many gifts. 

21. The gifts of God/the Holy are always intended for our well-being. 

22. When we give over any hurt, pain, and suffering to God/the Holy, it is immediately put down. 

23. It is gone forever and will never be remembered. 

24. We are invited to be like God/the Holy in this way. 

25. Let go. 

26. Let go of the old life and live a new way. 

27. See yourself in a new way; the Way of God/the Holy. 

28. This begins with forgiveness. 

29. It begins with forgiving ourselves for things we have said and done when we didn’t know better, and it begins with forgiving others for things they have said and done when they didn’t know better. 

30. It begins with letting go. 

31. Let go. 

32. Live the better way of Love, Joy, Peace, and Freedom. 

33. Let your garden flourish and grow. 

34. Let it become a new creation. 

35. Allow God/the Holy to prune and clear away anything that has been used to harm yourself and others. 

Grounding: Six