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My former editor and I would go toe to toe about my writing at times. She was of the opinion that my books should rarely speak directly about me. I use a lot of self-deprecating humor in my writing, not because I don't love me, but rather to show my readers that I am just as prone to doing stupid things as anyone else. Said former editor would comment that the books are supposed to be uplifting and that people are not going to buy them if all I do is talk about me. I agree she has a fair point, but that would mean that the majority of my books would be autobiographical and that thankfully is not the truth. I just want those who enter into my world to understand my world. Hence, you will sometimes get to hear of my mistakes and screw ups and maybe by hearing about them, it will ensure that you won't follow in my foot steps.
Letting go of something never seems to be easy. Be it a past love, a missed opportunity, a foul up that sent your head spinning; letting go is sometimes the hardest thing you will ever have to contend with. If there was a tote board showing all of my foul ups, all of my missed opportunities, or all my past unrequited love, I dare say the number would be staggering. We all have to deal with issues, but dealing with them is a far cry from simply walking away and pretending they don't exist. Walking away and playing make believe is never going to solve anything, and if you are anything like me, solving issues should be number one on your to-do list.
When was the last time you had a really good cry? I mean one of those cries where you had no more tears left in you? If you can think back on it, did you feel better after, or was it simply an unconscious act of will? Sometimes we cry and we don't even know why we're doing it. The body is a magnificent machine. It knows when you need to let go of things, and it will tell you when the time is right to let go of those things that no longer serve you. Letting go of things that no longer serve is difficult, at least for most people. The reason for the difficulty is because we desire for something so strongly, we can hardly express what our life would be like without it. This is why letting go is so incredibly difficult at times, but even through the difficulty, you need to let it go.
Dodinsky, the author of the NY Times bestselling book, IN THE GARDEN OF THOUGHT, says it best, "Let your tears flow and where they go, let your sorrows follow." Holding on to sorrow is not letting go or releasing those things that bind us up. Holding on to sorrow is forcing you to relive the event day in and day out, and that is never going to bring you healing. Trust me when I tell you I have had to learn this lesson the hard way. I have held on to things so tight, it was like a pneumatic vice grip. I thought that as long as I held on, there was always a small glimmer of hope that I would one day have the one thing I wanted most. As much as I wanted this one thing, I had to finally question whether or not this one thing was really of service to me. Was it something that was going to add to my life, or would it continue to drag me down? No one has the ability to answer that last question except you. You know what has been holding you back. You may not want to openly admit it, but deep down you know what serves you and what doesn't. As hard as it might seem to do, releasing the sorrow is of such importance I don't have words enough to tell you the importance of it.
As I said earlier, the main reason most people are unable to let go of certain things is because they so desperately want something that the thought of never being able to have it scares them to death. In reality, if you are able to release it, then you are making room for the real thing to come into your life. If you ever want the real thing, then those counterfeits that you have been holding on to have to depart. There really is no other way.
Very few people ever proclaimed that letting go was easy, but they will admit that it was necessary, and once they were able to set it free what they really needed showed up very quickly. Making room for the good things in life means having to toss out the bad. I'm not saying that certain people are bad. What I'm saying is that certain people may not be good for you. Yes you might love them, but if you really loved them and they loved you, we certainly would not be having this discussion. I'm not saying that certain jobs might not be perfect for you, but if they were really perfect, then why aren't you working in that particular area? We try to justify certain things, when there is no real justification. Please hear me: you heart knows what serves you best, and if you can follow your heart then you will have the strength to release those things that no longer serve you. It may be tough, but it will certainly be worth it in the long run. I know you can do it, because I have had to do it. Yes I may have been screaming and yelling the entire way, but I survived it and so shall you. Remember, you have a destiny, and that destiny should be the priority. Do what is right, do what is sometimes hard, but please do it. Your future is waiting for you as soon as you are able to drop the past.
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