A friend gave me the following quote by Reverend Safire Rose on letting go. Lately, I have been reading it almost daily. It reminds me to let go of all that I can’t control, which is almost everything, and live in the present. Bit-by-bit I am loosening my grip, and finding the gift of freedom that results. I share it as a gift to you:
“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 the memories that held her back. She let go of all 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..?”
When did you last “let go?”
What do you need to let go of to be free inside yourself?
Thank you Eileen this describes exactly what Ihave been up to.
Such great comfort to have fellow voyagers moving towards Freedom ad Wonder.
Lucia
We are with you! I think letting go is one of the greatest challenges. I’ve done that in spades recently and while it’s hard, it feels healthy. much love to you.
<3
Thanks for everything…xoxo
Eileen, Do appreciate your inspiring posts which always offer moments to pause and reflect.
One of the reasons I enjoyed your memoir so much was hearing the lovely stories of your grandmother and how she affected you – reminded me of my grandmother and although she passed away many years ago, I still recall her wise words.
“Let go and let God”.
And we could tell by her radiance and calm that she lived this.
Like a blessing gift, these words have come to me in facing the many ups and downs of life.
Thank you for reminding me as I have been deeply disheartened at my failure to wake people up to taking better care of themselves, and their children, in this digital age. Seeing parents and grandparents giving their children wirelessly-connected devices, completely unaware of the harmful radiation, is a constant letting go challenge. And hopelessly trying to keep WiFi out of schools – and aircraft – are also losing battles.
Letting go to me doesn’t mean giving up my efforts, but letting go of the feelings of helplessness that only weigh me down and are of no help to anyone.
Thank you again, Eileen
I think that the feelings of helplessness are tied closely to expectations. Maybe it’s about letting go of the level of our expectations that can create a happier outcome. I know for myself that unfulfilled expectations are the beginning of disappointment, and when I lower them I feel better and more satisfied. All the best, Eileen
Wonderful piece Eileen. One needs to believe in their own heart and know that their beat is th one to listen to.
I couldn’t agree more, Norm. Thanks for tuning in with your wisdom. I’m happy to be connected.
Eileen; I so enjoy reading your blogs. I read this word by word…and I could only think of what I have been experiencing since the loss of my dear father 6 weeks ago. There is a power within me that is so very present. Letting go; it just is happening; no one to speak with, no one to ask; no one to ask if I should; it just is. There are blessings; many; that have taken place every day; because I am allowing “new”…a blank slate; removal of the apple tree; new roots; new plants; a newness about knowing my new position in life. A newness and sadness and curiosity about what it will be like going forward; that now there are only 2 of us left out of my immediate family of 5; a sadness; and an inner strength that is saying “carry on.”
Dear Jill, I’m so sorry for the loss of your father. No matter how prepared one tries to be, one can never really be prepared for the feelings of losing a loved one like a parent. Every first during the first year has to be gone through. It’s sometimes hard to understand why others can continue along with their normal lives. I think of death as the loss of a piece of a mobile. Everything feels out of balance at first, but in time it finds new balance. Give yourself a lot of time to feel whatever you are feeling at the moment. Life will support you.
Eileen — I’m going right to my bookcase and throw out all my self-help books and just let go. This is your best post yet — and they are all good! — Nancy
I love your response! Thanks for the complement. I hope you are having a good summer letting go, wherever you are!
Here is a quote from Thick Nhat Hanh which I found on my Facebook news feed yesterday. It seems to compliment sentiment about letting go. “People say walking on water is a miracle, but to me walking peacefully on earth is the real miracle.”
Wow! I couldn’t agree with you more. As soon as I finish replying to all these comments I’m going to meditate and feel the peace of the earth right beneath me. Thanks for the reminder.
Ah, “letting go” — good topic, affects us all. Can be challenging and off-putting as we struggle to release that which we’re attached to or “feel” bonded with and close to. So, let’s begin at the beginning. . .
Training wheels – when I was 5, I learned to ride a bike without training wheels and had to believe in my ability to balance on this 2-wheeled, tippy racing machine. That’s how it felt under me! And, within one afternoon, I was happily soaring down the street—sans training wheels—-whee!
Getting into my first choice college – Didn’t happen. I wasn’t accepted into the theatre dept. at Northwestern University. But, I was accepted into the Univ. of Michigan’s (no slouch, either!) And, went on to my first choice of grad. school’s–UCLA (TV/Film) and had a wonderful time, too!
Divorce – The hardest one to let go of—EVER! Not my choice (which made “letting go” all the harder) Never remarried or had kids (another difficult dream to let go of and make peace with).
Such is life. Went on to adopt many pets—dogs, cats, horses and my beloved pony, Dancer. Guess God wanted me in shelters, pastures and carriages instead of soccer fields, kindergartens and board rooms!
Mom’s old age – Another difficult one to “let go” of, for, my memories of her are as a healthy, vital, energetic Mamala, and, to witness the slow demise of the person I love most in the world and “let go” of the person I vividly remember is extremely difficult. Mom will be 97 next week Wednesday. She’s doing well, and I can’t (and wont) “let go” of the hope that she’ll be around for many more years.
I love getting to know you through your comments Phyll. It sounds like you have had some real bumps in the road, but that you navigate them your head high, and your heart open. What more could one ask. Blessings to your Mom. I am practicing the same art as my father ages into his second century, and to this day, I still miss my mom at key occasions.
Dear One
Is there way I can share this wonderful and wise blog with a friend who needs to read it
Blessings and love
RACHEL
Dear Rachel, I think the easiest way is to send her my website. If she types in: eileenrockefeller.com she will find it and tell her to press on the bar where it says “blog”. Thanks for passing it along.
I love this post. There was someone I needed to let go of. I went to my tennis lessons and the instructor said you are holding the racquet too tight. Hold it as if it is a bird in your hand. And I would think that I should hold onto the relationship that lightly. But I could not. I held on too tight. I lost the relationship. But I finally let go.
What a poignant story. Thanks for sharing this. We all struggle with letting go. And to let go of a relationship is one of the hardest things of all. I’m glad you let go, and wish you the best.