It’s autumn. As I watch the leaves fall, I am reminded of this topic on letting go. I’m inspired by how effortlessly the leaves fall. They don’t cling onto the branches.
The journey of letting go is a process of embracing impermanence deeply. It’s part of befriending change and loss. It’s part of living.
Speaking from my own experience of letting go, I’ve found at times, that it can be challenging because of what’s familiar and comforting.
I used to think a lot about letting go. I would go to my head, an endless rumination of questions. I would also skip letting go because I didn’t want to feel. It’s been my personal practice to feel my way through letting go and being present with what arises in each moment.
I noticed that during these potent moments of what comes through – a longing for what was, a longing for what could have been, a longing to be seen, a longing to be free and a longing to be with what is without feeling a need to control or escape. It can be a messy process and I’m learning to stay curious in my discovery.
My commitment is to be more courageous, to befriend my own inner demons, and to remind myself that I am human. Letting go does not just apply to losses, but it also applies to how we want to live in each moment. How can we free ourselves and lean into what longs to be witnessed? How can we learn to trust and connect more deeply with the unknown?
The RAIN framework is one way through that I personally have found helpful.
May this poem by Safire Rose inspire you as you journey along this precious life.
SHE LET GO
“She let go.
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…”