There are times in life when it’s time to let go of the things that no longer serve a purpose in your life. If this were to occur, would you be ready to let go, or would you continue to hold on? Take a few moments to answer the question because there could be something that has been lingering for some time but, you’re not ready to release. That’s the thing about the art of letting go. This is another type of grief in an individual’s life who tries to identify what hasn’t been released. Here is the thing, letting go has positive and negative effects on human emotions. Yet, what are you letting go is the biggest question you must ask yourself. Is it the fact you’ve loss a loved one, you must move on from the relationship, relocation, the list goes on. The only person who knows when it’s time to let go is you the individual person. Take time to create a list of pros and cons to identify how your situation has impacted you. Sometimes you can be amazed by what you’re letting go. Let’s look at some examples of letting go through different situations in life.
The first is the loss of a loved one. What does it take to release the emotional hurt inside your very own body? What does it feel like as you imagine this individual speaking, listening, or touching? There are all types of emotions going through the mind at this very moment. The emotions of anxiety, guilt, fear, denial, peace, acceptance and sometimes release depend on the relationship. When someone departs from this life it’s easy to provide condolences as most people, if I am being honest don’t know what to say. What if I told you sometimes it’s best to not say anything. At first it may seem odd, but each human being grieves and mourns differently. Some individuals cry, some don’t…that doesn’t mean they loved the person less. This is the way they process their emotions or have a better understanding of death.
The second situation is relationships, which are an absolute must in society. How would you know how to engage if you don’t have relationships to learn from. This is the type where you may see the individual or you may not. Either way, this is a grief because, it can be the fear of starting over. An example of this would be divorce, this can have an emotional impact as it took time to develop and come to agreement for some. This is nothing to be ashamed about as it happens in life that two people who were once in love can grow apart. Yes, marriage takes time, and you must work things out but, sometimes it’s not that easy. Why do so many judge what’s healthy for another individual’s emotional health? When getting a divorce according to the many people I spoke with, you lose a part of self. Just as losing a loved one, it’s the same thing because, both must rebuild and start over again. This is the part that becomes hard for most people, knowing that life must begin again.
The next one is letting “yourself” go and not understanding the underlying of grief here. When you allow yourself to fall and you know longer know who you are…that is grief. It takes a lot of encouragement to bring yourself back to the place you once were. In this type of grief, you didn’t just let go but, you lost who you were mentally, physically possibly, spiritually, and emotionally. There are many challenges you must conquer to bring who you are to the surface. At the same time, it helps you to rediscover “you” before a new relationship. I hope this makes sense to someone. A question that should be answered is what makes you happy, sad, angry, frustrated, joyful? Explore each of these emotional words until you realize who you are again. It’s hard losing self in the mist of everything going on in life but it allows you the confidence and the time needed to heal.
The last one is materialistic items that are hard to let go of but, eventually can be replaced. How is this grief you ask? The emotional impact to rebuild what was lost. If you look at the previous three, they all have to do with rebuilding in some way. The only difference is this grief is dealing with items verses a person. Yet, this is a grief that at some point all have endured in life. Who wants to go through grief? Nobody if the question was asked.
Okay so how is this all a part of letting go but is still considered grief. Everyone has experienced at least once in their lives one of the situations above. Grief is not just tragedy but, it’s the process of releasing what no longer services its purpose in your life. I know it’s hard to digest but, it truly is. It’s the “let go” that most humans have problems facing; no matter if it’s a loved one, divorce/friendship, self, or materialistic. We all will experience this art of letting go one way or another. When we let go it allows us to draw closer to the creator and begin a relationship with him. Yes, it will hurt, and we will experience different emotions but, this is not anything new to God himself. He also experienced losses such as His Son, dignity, ridicule, and rejection. Does this all sound familiar to you? If so, welcome to the wonderful world of your creator. In a previous blog I explained it’s okay to question God because He already knows. He even knows that it will hurt, He knows that we’re not use to letting go.
He knows and that’s why he tells us “Come to me all that labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Rest is simply to stop. What are you stopping? You’re allowing yourself time to process what He has created. You’re letting go knowing that unfortunately, you’re not in control of your life as much as you may think. God gave us this body; this is true, but some situations are meant for us to go to Him for the answers. Grief is one of them, no one can provide the answer to what you’re looking for in that moment. If you truly think about how many people said, “I can only imagine what you’re going through”. I will raise my hand on that one because I know I have said it or been told. When we look around who understands better than the creator himself. Letting go of anything in life is not easy and takes time to adjust without it but, as time passes you will realize the answers to your questions asked.
How much are you paying attention to your answer on “why” something had occurred in your life. Remember All things work for your good…keyword “All”. Even the loss of a loved one which is the hardest thing to swallow. Someone who reads this blog will have comments. I caution you because I wouldn’t say anything if I hadn’t experienced it myself. I am a living testimony and I had to swallow that same pill as you. It’s not easy but, with time it becomes easy, only if you connect back to God for your answers. I explained in the beginning its bumps and thrills because that’s life to be honest with you. I hate to break the news to you, but this is the art of letting go. This is why sitting with your emotions, processing what you feel is vital. It gives a deeper meaning to life. A life that we will never understand until we connect back with God.
Therefore, ask yourself when you rebuild your life what do you want to rebuild on, rocky ground or the foundation of God who knows all before you were born. As he said, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. (Jeremiah 29:11)
You and I Inspired Me 