Drop Rocks - Let Go!

I feel the need to talk about letting go and moving on…. Not in the sad sense, but the sense of setting yourself free.

I remember as a child I was obsessed with rocks.  One year in the South of France whilst on a school trip, I was swimming life jacket clad in a lake.  I remember finding a rock, that for some reason I wanted more than anything.  Only problem being, it was as big as my head, extremely heavy and I had to get it from where I was in the lake back to the shore.  In my infinite childlike wisdom I decided it was an awesome idea to stuff it in my life jacket and swim with it across the lake to reach the shore. 

Needless to say, I very nearly drowned myself through my insistence that this rock come home with me.  I struggled and struggled before I was eventually rescued by a flabbergasted teacher who proceeded to lecture me for the last 3 days of the trip.  My beautiful rock plunged to the depths of the lake never to be seen by me again.  However…   I found swimming much easier and lived to write about it, so I’d say that story ends well  =)

Why am I telling you this?  I am sharing this weird little tale because it is a classic example of why we should let go, metaphorically speaking.  Imagine those things that you are refusing to let go of are rocks in your ‘Life Jacket’ and you are swimming from one side of your life to the other.  The weight of those rocks will either make that journey both difficult and uncomfortable, or they will overcome you completely and make it impossible.

Drop the rocks, your buoyancy improves and swimming becomes pleasurable and uninhibited.  I urge you to drop the rocks.

The feeling of being stuck in a rut, going round and round, living the same boring story every day… this is the result of our minds clinging to something in the past.  It could be a singular event or a whole period of time, even a person we have loved and lost.  Whatever it is, our reluctance to let go of this ‘thing’ or ‘things’, is the very reason we are trapped where we are, unable to move on and be free.

So it seems simple enough doesn’t it?  Just let go of whatever it is that holds you back and move on.  It is a perfectly simple solution that seems to stump the vast majority of us.  A simple act that just feels so difficult for us to actually complete.  Why?

I’m starting to believe that this is down to those little things called thoughts again; created by that crafty little brain of ours.  Our thoughts advise us that that these memories are useful and help us in our journey onwards.  They tell us that nothing is as simple as just deciding to move on.  That cunning little ego compounds all this by reminding you of the past every time you hit a similar situation again, it triumphs in saying “I told you so!”  Even your emotions and physical reactions respond to those thoughts, making you feel exactly as you felt in the past; making you feel like the pain, fear, anxiety is still relevant. 

Isn’t it?? 

The answer is that no, it’s really not relevant at all.  More rocks in your life jacket.  Dump them and swim for it.

So far I have made this seem like we are only ever clinging to the bad, but this is not the case, often the things we cling too are the beautiful things in our lives we had to say goodbye to, lost, or left through choice but still remember fondly.  Things we think we have had once and will never be lucky enough to have again.   Many people long for a past period of time where everything felt right, or a person they loved who is no longer around…. Heck, some even wish they were children again when things were simple.

If you sit and cling to these things and refuse to let go then you are absolutely right, your life will not magically morph into something spectacular.   Because you are anchored where you are.  In fact there is a distinct possibility that your are already sinking.

Drop the rocks.  Swim. 

Earlier this year I decided to perform a mini letting go ceremony.  I won’t go into too much detail, however it involved soul searching, a Chinese sky lantern, burning of items I no-longer want in my positive space…. And a lot of self love.  That night I felt like I had lost 50lbs and could fly off after my lantern.  I designed my letting go ceremony so it meant something to me.  I poured every ounce of resolve into letting go of those issues I had identified, so that when that lantern floated away and the smoke from the fire rose…. I was saying goodbye.

 

 

If you are honest with yourself, you know what holds you back.  Your crafty little brain is actually quite stupid…. If you ask it, molly coddle it and make it feel important, it will tell you what holds you back.  Trick it, and when you have the answer, design your ceremony, and then go drop rocks!  What have you got to loose?

Namaste