The Joy Of Letting Go!
Everyone has a story. Some stories and journeys are more difficult than others. We all have had challenges that we seem to hold onto. But, as we know, life is to be lived in the present rather than the past, even when it’s hard.
Sometimes we feel stuck. We have experienced a devastating loss, a humiliating or infuriating injustice, a personal embarrassment or a paralyzing fear. These may seem insurmountable, but ruminating about a past occurrence that can’t be undone robs us of our energy, our perspective and our future. Similarly, worrying about a future that hasn’t happened yet is unproductive and essentially a waste of precious time.
It’s important to understand that there is a difference between forgetting and letting go. What can we do to free ourselves from a burdensome experience that we will never forget?
- Acknowledge that, while you will not forget the incident, it will be possible to release the negative feelings.
- Understand that emotions are energy. When our feelings seem to overwhelm us, we may feel depressed, heavy, tired and when the world seems dark, we have little energy for action.
- Realize that feelings are an integral part of any significant event need to be acknowledged and experienced.
- Savor and treasure the positive feelings and memories.
Negative feelings often pose a challenge — rage, pain or terror may seem overwhelming or never-ending. However, after some time, we need to deal with the aftermath of a difficult situation in order to get re-grounded in our life — to return to the present. However, after an appropriate interval, it is important to stop investing your precious time and energy in a past event.
While some things will never be forgotten, they will diminish from your memory. In order to move forward, you may need to grieve, to forgive someone, to separate yourself from another person, to communicate your thoughts and feelings or to make amends to someone.
In any event, humans need to make sense of things — to understand what has happened, if possible. It is very difficult to move forward when it seems there is no reason for the bad thing that has happened. We know that challenging times can make us stronger. Learn something from the experience in order to grow.
Letting go of investing emotionally in a past event is a choice. It requires and determination and courage to separate ourselves from something difficult that we will never totally forget and cannot change. We have the freedom to release ourselves, and others, from the past and move into the future. The joy of letting go is ours to embrace.