To let go

To let go can mean a lot of things to different people.

For me, it is to do with self-liberation, lighten up and make space for fresh, and perhaps happier things. It has all sorts of positive connotations for me. It spells freedom.

My Mother believed in the concept of letting go–how else could she have been the warm, kind, loving, non-judgmental person in spite of the hardships life kept throwing at her?

Here’s a poem I found long ago. I printed it and pinned it where I could see it often, because it serves as a great reminder for various things: not to hold grudges, but move on without carrying that emotional luggage. I am not always successful, but I  know I am gradually getting there. We live in a complicated world and we need words of wisdom to keep us on track.

See if these lines speak to you as effectively as they spoke to me.

To let go

To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring; it means I can´t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off; it’s the realization that I can´t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another; I can change only myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own outcomes.

To let go is not to be protective; it is to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny, but to accept.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.

To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue, but to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more.

#WednesdayWisdom is a series with short bursts of easy-to-consume wisdom in the form of stories, quotes, anecdotes, and humor.