Aren't we all so great at stating and restating the phrase, "Let it go?" Some of us can state it AND do it...I know I CAN. I CAN totally say it and I can do it....but I TAKE IT BACK! I totally take it back! Apparently, I let it go with a string attached so that I can pull it back. Or, more like it - it is a rubber band attached and not a string. I throw it and it bounces back all on its own!
Oh yeah, I'm terrific at letting things go!
For a minute, what would it look like if we just let go of things the first time? There have been times when something is bothering me and I know I feel weird but I don't remember what it was that was bothering me...so I dig and dig until I come up with the reason and most often it is something that was trying to be let go of...but I yanked it right back up so that I could make myself totally miserable all over again. Wahhooooooo....what a ball of laughs I am.
Except, I am not alone in this, am I? I know I am not. Many of us try to let things go, or let them go successfully for a small amount of time...only to hoist that rubber band back up and pull the nastiness back into our own laps. Why do we do this? Perhaps because we are familiar with the old way. Perhaps we simply enjoy misery. Perhaps we have nothing to replace the hole that the old thing we threw away left. Whatever the reason, we do it and we do it a lot.
Try, try very hard, to let things go and leave them there. I know we've all done exercises where we write down the issue and then burn the paper or toss the paper in some pit of hell. We do the exercise but for some reason we are so very willing to burn our fingers or revisit hell to pull that precious issue out and wear it all over again. These tasks are helpful but only symbolic. We can always take back our problems if we need; what we need to do is NOT NEED to take them back. We need to not have the desire to pile crap up and let it weigh us down. Desire coupled with the know how is a genuine recipe for victory in this department. We must want to let things and go then literally leave things there...in the 'not to be retrieved' pile. Don't even consider going back for it. It is not an option.
So, if you are deciding to let something go, also decide to never take it back. You will be very glad you left things alone and moved on. See if you can do this...and let me know how you did it, because I'm still working on it!
Take Good Care Today!
I liked this post because many of us go through the motions of "letting something" go only to have it reappear some time in the future . Perhaps asking oneself, before going through the ritual of letting go, why would I want to hold on to this? One might be surprised to find the answer that comes back :
ReplyDeleteit allows me to hold on to my anger
It allows me to be distracted so I don't have to look at something else
it allows me to be in a frame of mind that feels comfortable and familiar
it confirms my self image (low self esteem)
it allows me to not to take a new direction or take a risk
As uncomfortable as it is to have something come back to us it usually does so for a reason. Sometimes that reason is not such a good one and needs to be examined.