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Zen and the Pen: Let It Be

In a soulful, infectious song, the Beatles made famous three simple words of wisdom:

“Let it be.”

In times of trouble…

In hours of darkness…

When nights are cloudy…

For the brokenhearted… 

And the parted…

Paul McCartney promises, “There will be an answer” if we just “let it be.” It seems so simple, yet so terribly trying for the human mind, which is more inclined to obsess, worry, and react impulsively when faced with uncertainty and fear. Making matters worse, technology works overtime, conditioning our brains to expect immediate gratification.

We feel anxious when people don’t return calls and texts right away.

I know she has her phone.  Why isn’t she answering me?

We catastrophize over self-diagnoses when our doctors aren’t readily available.

I entered my symptoms into ChatGPT, and it told me I have carpal tunnel syndrome, halitosis, or a rare tumor, and I only have two to four months to live!

Or maybe we check our email twenty times a day to see if a busy publication has responded to the piece of flash fiction we submitted yesterday.

Come on. How long does it take to read 250 words?

In many aspects of our lives, including writing, our patience muscles have weakened with modern conveniences. When answers, solutions, wants, and needs can’t be found or met with the tap of a finger or a snappy app, people tend to get anxious, antsy, and angry. We try to “let it be,” Sir Paul, but in the words of the late Tom Petty, “the waiting is the hardest part.” 

Petty makes a valid point, but it’s not necessarily a fixed one. Waiting doesn’t always have to be as difficult as it seems. Borrowing from yogic principles, we can learn to sit with uncertainty and make use of the time when we are caught between not knowing and knowing or stuck and flowing.

Imagine, for example, you’re in a hurry and standing in a long grocery store line. The woman in front of you has thirty disputable coupons, a torn rice bag from aisle 84 that needs to be replaced, and a tabloid jamming the conveyor belt. There are three impatient shoppers behind you. You can’t possibly change lanes because most of your groceries are already out of the cart and waiting to roll as soon as the rest of Angelina Jolieʼs face is extracted from the belt. How can you cope?

Stay present in the moment. Don’t worry about where you need to be next. 

Take mindful deep breaths. (Exaggerated sighs don’t count.)

Have compassion for the cashier and the people behind you. 

Practice acceptance of things out of your control.

Relax your clenched jaw.

Change the energy with a smile. 

Hum the mantra, “Let it be.” 

Similarly, in our writing lives, we have many trials and varied periods of waiting. Whether it’s waiting on a response from an agent or suffering through a prolonged writer’s block, there is a blessing in the space created. Instead of worrying about the manuscript you’ve submitted or what response will come, use that time to work on a new writing project. If you have a day where words just won’t fill the page, read someone else’s words that teach and inspire you. 

Consider reframing such smaller trials as opportunities to practice patience, so you are better able to handle longer, more difficult ones. You might not always feel like humming, but let the words “let it be” resonate—store them in your soul. 

We can find peace and rest in the wisdom:

Let it be.

Let it be.

There will be an answer.

Let it be.

Michele Alouf
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Written by

Michele Alouf

Michele Alouf is a founding member of Story Street Writers and holds an ALM in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard Extension School. When she’s not working on her first novel, What Lies in Orange Skies, she can be found in her kitchen trying to cook, read, and balance in tree pose without getting burned. Michele was recently nominated for a 2026 Pushcart Prize. Her work is published in Potomac Review, New World Writing Quarterly, Vestal Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, Bridge Eight, Drunk Monkeys, and other publications. Michele previously owned a yoga business and wrote for a local magazine. She has two grown children and lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, John, and her mini Goldendoodle, Coco "Mo."

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