let everything go
sit still in the emptiness
see what emerges
Let it go.
How many times do you hear that advice?
It’s one of those things that people say, but it can be challenging to do in practice.
Even when we know that holding on isn’t serving us.
Even when we know that holding on is actually harming us.
Even when holding on is draining our resources and assets — materially, energetically, emotionally, physically, spiritually.
Even when everything in us is yearning to let go, to throw it all away, to clear it out and start completely fresh.
Even then, it’s still a battle to let it go. Whatever “it” is for you in that situation.
A project. A home. A job. A career. Your stuff. A commitment you made to yourself. A daily practice. A relationship. A way of being. A vision. A dream. A goal.
It’s hard to let go because letting go is never only about the thing you’re letting go.
Underneath that thing is an identity. Your identity. The roles you play. How others see you. How you see yourself.
And when you let go you are not only sitting in the emptiness of having released the thing, but also you are sitting in the emptiness of having released that identity.
That emptiness of identity runs deep. It touches the core of beingness.
Who am I when I release this thing and the identity that goes with it?
How do I see myself now?
How do I define myself now?
It is the emptiness of identity crisis. An emptiness of purpose and meaning and ambition.
My identity drives my desires and my daily practices and behaviors.
Who will I be, what will I do, what will I create, if I don’t know who I am?
This is what’s underneath the difficulty of letting it go.
It’s never about the surface thing.
Love it? Hate it? What do you think? Don't hold back...