freedom of letting go

In traditional meditative practices, "letting go" means coming to terms with the fact that both good things and bad things are a constant in our lives.
Life is an accumulation of experiences, causes and conditions which are always shifting and changing forms. After all, one of the only things you can count on in life is change.

When you’re suffering, you have two options for dealing with the difficult situation and emotions it brings up.
You can either resist it and wish it to be another way, or you can accept your situation and change the way you feel about it.

Letting go means letting life be by allowing tough feelings to arise, letting them deliver their message and then watching them be replaced by new feelings. In life, the more we try to control people and situations around us — to push, pull and force things to be as we’d like them to — the worse the situation usually gets.

Through introspection, we come to realise that clinging to things we don’t want to give up usually only causes unnecessary suffering and unhappiness. What are we trying to let go of? Criticism, blaming, fear, competing, people-pleasing, anger, resentment, jealousy and shame are some of the most compelling items on the list. When we trust enough to let things come into our lives at the right time and let them go as they need to, we’re able to find more freedom, peace and comfort.

As the saying goes, "When one door closes, another opens." Letting go and acceptance go hand-in-hand.
With practice, it’s possible to accept ourselves and our lives for what they are, accept other people for who they are and maintain this attitude in each moment.
Letting go means practicing acceptance, forgiveness, open-mindedness, patience and remaining realistic throughout the process.

But it doesn’t mean giving up or not trying at all.

It doesn't mean feeling defeated or hopeless, or allowing others to mistreat you.
Letting go is surrendering and being willing to consciously give up control because you realise that you never really had it in the first place.

While it won’t happen overnight, you can learn to be accepting and compassionate with both yourself and others.
With time, you can forgive yourself for whatever part you played in the past, as well as forgive anyone else involved.
You can let go of fears and expectations about the future, overcoming people-pleasing and being brave enough to face uncertainty.
Namaste
xo