You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying in it.
Letting go means different things to different people. What does letting go mean to me? It could mean letting go of mental, physical, and emotional baggage. During my vision board parties, I do an exercise called, ‘Bag Lady – No More!’ I’m not a hoarder, however, I have enough ‘stuff,’ to fill up bags upon bags. (Que: ‘Bag Lady’, by Erika Badu ‘Bag lady you gone hurt your back, Dragging all them bags like that.’). And by ‘bags of stuff’, I’m including physical, mental and emotional.
I need to physically let go of things I was positive I ‘MUST HAVE’, at the point of purchase. A year or years later I find them in my drawer, tags still on. My husband (I don’t think I’ll ever be this disciplined) believes in only having enough shoes to work and workout. I, on the other hand, am convinced the day I choose to throughout those flipflops with the pink bling heart, will be the day I’m invited to a ‘pink bling heart flipflop party’. (It can happen! 😊)
I really try hard to mentally let go of all the really good zingers for the people I got into arguments with over the years. My wit game is strong but my malicious game is weak. I know that ‘hurt people, hurt people’ so I hold them back so as to not cause them (or myself for being mean) any additional hurt. Those zingers, however, would go around and round in my mind like a ticker tape. Yep, I think I need to let them go.
Emotionally, we must let go of relationships we put our all into working. Those relationships could be a mate, friend, workgroup, or even family. We invest so much time and energy in engaging and making it work, that we turn a blind eye to those red flags that show us, the relationship is slipping and more times than not, over. How do we let go and not lose part of ourselves? Is it possible to redefine ourselves outside of that relationship? How do we reinvest that same energy and emotion into being fully present for ourselves and those who want us in their lives? How do we not carry that emotional baggage with us forever?
Whether a pair of shoes or a relationship, sometimes letting go can be the hardest thing to do. Letting go may seem impossible. We give our all and all we want is reciprocity. Reciprocity means giving and receiving.
You must learn that when you find yourself giving and giving in vain, it’s time to let go. You may be weighed down by feelings of guilt, discouragement, and defeat thinking you’ve lost. We’ve got to put that self-defeating baggage down. Know this, letting go does not always mean we lose.
Losing what weighs us down makes room for much-needed self-love that builds us up stronger. Reinvest that emotional, mental and physical energy into yourself. You are with you, 24/7/365. You can’t escape yourself and nor should you want to. Create for you, the person you want to be, and want to be with every day. Let go of the bags of hurt and pain and make room for all the wonderful things you have yet to discover and do. It’s time now for you. Let Go!
Que: ‘Bag Lady’, by Erika Badu “I guess nobody ever told you, All you must hold onto, is you, is you, is you.”