Letting go can be so very hard no matter what it is! The past decade seems to have been a practice of letting go for me; letting go of unhealthy habits, relationships, and even places at first, and then so much more. I let go of becoming an RN after a car accident and some difficulties with school led me to my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2010. Shortly after this I let go of smoking cigarettes and drinking sugary drinks all day long amongst many other things.
Fast Forward to 2017, and while kayaking I decided to do a river tree swing and broke two fingers because I wrapped the rope so tightly and was hamming for the camera that I forgot to LET GO. The next year I let go of a lot of fears and limiting beliefs when I decided to drive all by myself to Tennessee (and against everyone's advice and wishes) to experience McKamey Manor, the country's scariest haunted house. Directly after that experience I cut off my long, blonde hair and dyed it back to some semblance of its natural color; a signal to myself that I was letting go of my past to step into my life of owning and operating a successful yoga/reiki/hypnosis business. That same year I also let go of my first office to move somewhere more supportive.
Then I let go of my two oldest kitties in a fairly short period of time. Caleus, a 19 year-old Burmese passed while I was away at school in 2019. Then my 23 year-old Siamese, Peron, whom had been with me since my 20s and actually moved to Florida with me became too ill to go on.
In 2020, I let go of my right hip when I unexpectedly needed a total hip replacement (quite emotional for a former dancer)! Immediately after the hip I let go of my reliance upon the medical community for answers (only because they had no idea what to do or say) when I came down with COVID. By this I mean I let go of thinking I might not wake up or that I might never get my taste and smell or even my energy back and I developed a hypnotic protocol of my own with Chicago friend and hypnotist, Karen Hand to help others going through COVID and its long-haul effects. I also let go of my second office because they sold the building.
In 2021, I let go of my last living grandparent, but not before flying up to be by her side, thank goodness! I also let go of finishing my yoga therapy training in person. I would finish online in 2022, missing the interaction, but enjoying the savings of not having to pay for all of the travel and time off/away from my business.
In 2022, I let go of one of my closest gal pals because she was no longer supportive and there for me when I truly needed her to be. Then in June of this year, we had to let go of renting the amazing house/office/studio we had been living in for nearly 5 years BECAUSE we manifested OWNING that same amazing home/office/studio!
We are now gearing up to let go of 2022 and we have several friends and family members who are in the process of letting go of a lot of things because they are moving and downsizing.
Letting go can be positive (like manifesting this amazing home or letting go of limiting beliefs) or negative as it is when you lose a loved one, human or four-legged. It can be bittersweet like when one is leaving us, yet we know they will no longer be in pain. We all tend to resist change, yet change seems to be the one thing that is guaranteed to happen the most often in life. In Buddhism, the Second Noble Truth states that suffering is caused by attachment (or craving). Letting go is the answer, yet when we let go we need to remain positive and have faith that things will all work out; that the sun will shine again. In addition, if it's a habit or thing we are letting go of, we are creating a space and we tend to fill any space we create; they say nature abhors a vacuum and all. So it can be important to take some time and meditate upon the things you DO want more of rather than dwelling on the past.
It is OK to dream and wonder what it would be like if everything were to work out exactly the way you might want it to because dreaming is a positive flow of energy unlike worry or rumination. It's never a waste of time to dream big. So take the time to journal or dream and drift away in meditation or self-hypnosis and know that you will manifest more great things, more happy days, more relationships...more of whatever it is you do want!
