Do you run when it gets hard? Do you quit when you’re scared? That’s been my modus operandi for years. YEARS! And sometimes I still stand before the mighty decision of fight-or-flight and play out the game because I need to. The difference is, I rarely just quit anymore. I take to heart that line I once heard: “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” (Susan Jeffers)
So when I feel the desire to let something go, I have to chew it over and ask myself, “Is this fear, or is it really time to let it go and move on?”
I pray this over big and small ideas/projects. I lie awake in bed pondering the what if? and the journey each decision could take me on. But ultimately, it always comes down to being comfortable with the idea. If I’m not, I know I’m letting something go because of fear. If I have to come up with reasons to explain it (read: justify it), I have a better sense that it’s not really an issue of letting go but rather running away.
“Let it go” has been coming to me over and over in recent months. I firmly believe messages are delivered to us through others, through art, through our own hearts…if we will simply listen. I can be a little slow sometimes, but I’m finally listening. And this morning, I feel at peace and comfortable with the letting go I decided on while in prayer last night. Sometimes the process is more about release to be open to something more beautiful, rather than holding on and trying to mold something into what continues to hurt us. Upon letting go, I am seeing more clearly how hard it was to breathe, and now my lungs can fill with the fresh air of wonder, peace, and joy.
I am not afraid.
*Artwork by my precious, talented daughter.
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Mridu Khullar Relph - Rather than letting it all go, could you put it all on the side for a bit and then just take a tiny chunk out for now? When I’m feeling overwhelmed and my head is going in a million different directions, I dump everything– absolutely everything– on to a Neverending To Do List (yes, it’s called that). Then, I take a tiny chunk of it– one item– and work on that. No more, no less. When that’s finished, I see if I’m up for another tiny step. I find that taking it all in or letting it all go is just too big a decision for me, so I stack it in the “Maybe” pile and see how I feel about handling one small piece.