Letting go

Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person who seems to have weeks with recurring themes — a phrase, issue, or conversation that comes up again and again, sending you a message (and for me, a blog post idea). But I talked about it with my friend tonight, and she has the same experiences…feeling like after we’ve heard something at least twice in a week, it’s a sign.

This week’s theme happened to be letting go. First it was one of those chain emails that gave all kinds of examples of why if someone walks away from you, that you should just let it go. That they’re not meant to be part of your story anymore. I had never thought about it that way before, and it was suddenly so enlightening. As I continued to read through the email, I found myself thinking again and again how obvious it all seemed, and how magical the idea of “letting go” is when it comes from someone else.

The second instance was in a conversation with someone new. We came across a commonality related to our families, and the dialogue turned into how our past and the baggage that often comes with it doesn’t always have to be that way…baggage that is. It’s all a matter of how you react to it and deal with it — and if you just let it go, it puts life in an entirely new perspective.

So as I think about the different things in my life, and broken relationships (of all kinds) that I have held on to or worried over or cried over, or gotten angry about, it’s suddenly so easy to just look at all of that and say, “That’s not meant to be a part of my story. They are not meant to be a part of my life.”

And let’s face it — it hasn’t been easy in many ways. But when things seem out of our control and we’re left wondering what happened or why me, we have to remember that it is in our control to let it go. It’s in our control to recognize that moments and people and memories and love and friendships and even family come and go for a reason, and that the only way we can live our best, healthy, happy lives is to let it all go.