Sharing a powerful message

I want to share something I heard from Tamara Levitt in yesterday's "Daily Calm" (10-minute meditation from the Calm app) that had an impact on me:

——————

"A few weeks ago, my young niece came over. We talked about school, shared jokes, and made a mess in the kitchen rolling out pizza dough. After dinner, she insisted on doing the dishes. As she turned on the tap and got started, she made something of a mess. Plates slid out of her hands, bubbles flew left and right, and water dripped everywhere. My instinct was to grab the sponge from and clean up the mess she made, but I paused just long enough to catch the joy in her smile and the concentration in her eyes. Instead of taking over, I watched as she figured it out on her own. After a couple of big splashes, she learned to hold the plate in one hand and scrub with the other. She found the perfect angle for rinsing, and carefully stacked the dishes in the rack. When she was done, she used a towel to soak up the soapy water around her, beaming with pride. Because I resisted the urge to intervene, she found her own way in her own time. Something amazing happens when we release our need to control others. When we get out of the way and let life be. As Henry Ponder wrote: 'Pour milk in tea, but do not stir; watch milk clouds and tea seas swirl together at the gentle pace they prefer.'"