"let it be"

I woke up this morning with the opening lines of this song in my head.  As a kid, it wasn't one of my favorite Beatle tunes, but as an adult I find myself returning to the comfort this simple song seems to give me.

I am struck by the many levels on which this song can be taken.  When I first heard it, I thought he was talking about the Virgin Mary.  I assumed that Paul was an Irish Catholic and she plays a large part in the collective consciousness of those who are raised in that faith.  It was natural to me to think that he was "talking" to Mary, as some do.  It was years later that I learned he was really talking about his own mother, Mary McCartney and how he dreamed of her and heard her saying something she always said to him "let it be"

Now, that's an interesting phrase and I ponder it sometimes.  Does it mean "leave it alone" ?  Does it mean "let it happen"?  or are those really the same thing?  Is the advice to " go with the flow" and see what happens, in essence to "let go and let God" or whatever natural force makes the Universe tick and find balance?  The beauty is, it is all of these things.  I hear it differently, depending on where I am in my "times of trouble".  One day, the song just made me think of my own mother and what she might have said to me as I faced the problem I was having.  I sobbed.  Sometimes I feel a strange peace settle over me when I hear it, a contentment that goes deep, relaxing some tight knot I did not know I had.

So as I head out for my job this morning, I will try to "let it be" and see which meaning resonates today.