When It's Time to Let Go...

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes and cherish the moment.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone,
but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past,
but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more.
- author unknown

image source: http://weheartit.com/entry/41455692#

What does it really mean to "let go"... 

I had my shares of dealing with it.  I often encounter various situations wherein it is extremely difficult to move on and get on with my life. But one thing I realized is that letting go may be a painful experience, but it is an essential part of life. 

Some people believe that we are strong if we keep "holding on".  But in reality, we become even stronger when we learn to let go.  

Letting go doesn't mean we are giving up... It means accepting that there are some things in life which are not meant to be, some people who are not meant for us and some circumstances which are not meant to happen.  The difference between the two lies in our understanding and acceptance of that very thing we wanted to completely be freed of:

We give up hope in finding true love because we are afraid to commit.  Instead, we should let go of our fears in order to learn to love selflessly;

We give up on our relationships for the many times we have been hurt.  Instead, we should let go of our pain in order to forgive;

We give up in our pursuit to be free from sin because of our worldly desires.  Instead, we should let go of our desires in order to live free;

We give up ever finding meaning and purpose in our lives as a result of the mistakes and wrong decisions in the past.  Instead, we should let go of our past in order to move on and fulfill our lifelong purpose.  

 

We give up hope of ever experiencing happiness and satisfaction by holding on and refusing to move on.  Instead, we should decide to let go of everything that causes us to lose hope in order to joyfully wait for God's plan to unfold. 

In the process of letting go, we free ourselves completely of the "unnecessary" things in our lives which hinder us from becoming who we are destined to be.

There are circumstances, people, places, things in our past which doesn't need to be part of our future. Most especially, if these aspects of our lives fail to lead us to our ultimate destiny in life.    

We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. – Joseph Campbell

So how do we basically learn the art of letting go?   

Accept.  Forgive.  Love.  Decide.  Commit.

Accept the reality.  Unless we realize that something is over, we will never be able to move on.  "To let go is not to deny, but to accept" (author unknown).

Forgive yourself and others.   Understand that blaming ourselves and others or even the situation, will never help us move forward.  C.S. Lewis quoted that "getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars.  You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."

Learn to love more.  Loving ourselves, loving our lives, loving inspite of all the hurts and pains will open a lot of opportunities for us to experience life to the full.

Decide to let go and let "God".  Letting go is a decision.  We need to surrender everything completely to God and have faith that He is in full control of our future.

Commit to move forward.  Strive to do better this time around.  Letting go and moving on is all about second chances... it is a chance for us to learn from our experiences and grow even more as better individuals.  

The great thing about letting go is that - after we have blamed everything around us, cried over the pain, overcame the heartaches, conquered our fears - eventually, all the pieces of our once chaotic life will come together.  And as a result, we will discover that life wasn't so bad even if things didn't turn out exactly the way we wanted it to be.  After all, it is in "letting go" that we learn to seek the good in every situation... look forward to something better... and hope that the best is yet to come. 

image source: searchquotes.com