Letting Go
I’ve done a pretty good job of eliminating negativity. The thing is though, it doesn’t matter how many people, situations and conditions that create and support negativity I eliminate if I hold negativity close to my heart. I have been holding a grudge against someone and it’s not doing her, me or the group any good. That word, hold, is a key word.
It didn’t seem honest to use the word eliminate about this situation. It didn’t ring true. The words, letting go, felt more honest. There seemed to be a difference between eliminating and letting go but I didn’t know what that was so I called Florie who help me babble my way back to clarity. Eliminating means to remove, put an end to, expel. Letting go means to stop holding on to. Ah, ha! The truth is that I’ve holding on to something I needed to let go of, resentment. I don’t let go easily.
On December 17, 1997 I broached my canoe on two rocks above a Class IV drop then flipped upstream of my canoe in a place that was difficult for other boaters to get to. What happened that day changed the course of my life. Hanging from my canoe was a precarious situation to be in because letting go meant a very real chance of getting trapped under my boat and drowning. If I didn’t let go though the river would eventually pull me loose from the increasingly weak hold I had on the thwarts. It didn’t seem like much of a choice at the time. I prayed, asked for help and heard, “Surrender.” A more rational woman would have surrendered. I am not, however, a more rational woman. I didn’t immediately surrender. What I did was argue with God. I only finally surrendered because I figured I was probably going to die, so what the hell. I prayed one more time, “I surrender to Thee O Lord My God Merciful Father in Heaven” then I let go. Yeah, I don’t let go of things easily.
The grudge I was holding, the resentment, has been simmering just below the surface for months now. I stopped talking about it because there was nothing more to say, but I hadn’t stop feeling it. The longer I held on to it the more difficult it became to let go of. I’m not alone. What we do goes way beyond expressing our feelings in a healthy manner. Our resentments and hurts have become a habit that we feed and nurse like well loved children. We have become a nation of emotional trash pickers, pulling out choice tidbits for public consumption and our fifteen minutes of fame. Our trials and tribulations have become a substitute for normal, fodder for the entertainment industry and the currency of conversation. Resentment is the worst.
Resentment comes with a feeling of entitlement. We feel entitled to vengeance and retribution for the wrong that we mistakenly believe has been done to us. We believe that vengeance and retribution will create peace. How insane is that? Letting go just got a whole lot easier.
I surrender to Thee O Lord My God Merciful Father in Heaven.
Amen
i use a combo of shea butter and aloe vera moisturizer. Works great. I use shea butter on my lips, around my eyes and nose (dry areas), My father swears by vasoline.
p.s. I dropped your name on Gina's post, Barb. ;)
amen
Amen!
OMG and here I thought I had no big plans for my first summer long week-end. Thank you for this food for thought.
Would you like to expand on that?
I use The Sedona Method for letting go. http://www.sedona.com
The book is my bible and this method of letting go has helped me through some extremely difficult times and helped me change my life and to be more calm so I can think more clearly. Have a look!
I never feel entitled to anything. Everything we have is a gift. The only rights we have as people are a right to shelter, food and warmth. The rest is a bonus.
Good Monrnig Watermusic, Your words of wisdom has helped me a great deal. I couldn’t wait to read what was written. I didin’t want to read it too fast. I will keep this site for years to come as a reference. Many bad things have happen to my family the past 3 years. I refuse to be angry at the world. Many blessings to you. Keep up the great work.
I’m glad they helped. I have written something about resistance for myself that you might be interested in that I will post on Friday. This was a very useful thing I did for myself and continue to do, again for myself.
Looking forard to it. THank you.