Let It Go - Three Short Words, One Big Meaning

I wish I wouldn't have said that. It made me sound so... insensitive.

This thought took over my brain after one of the meetups that I regularly host in Montreal. I had said something that I felt would be interpreted in a not so positive way.

Nothing indicated that anyone was particularly moved or offended by what I'd said, but for whatever reason, it just bugged me. And I wished so bad I could take it back.How often do you find yourself repeating the same story over and over in your head, torturing yourself with the details and nuances of something that happened or something you said? How often do you replay hurtful past experiences, with an increasing sense of resentment? How often do you wish you could just go back?

I’m willing to bet that for most, the answer is way too often. And what I want to offer you, are three short words that hold one big meaning:

Let it go.

I understand how hard it can be to do that. I’m often right there with you, wishing and hoping I could go back and say or do things differently. I know how hard it is, not to imagine the satisfaction you would feel if you could just do that. But, it’s just as hard, if not infinitely more so, to keep reliving the same memory - which by the way, is most likely not on anyone else's mind.

Holding on, is how we stay out of the present, how we miss our lives and the opportunities they present.

Grant your soul peace.

Recognize when the possibility to take corrective action exists, if it's worth taking, and then take it. But if there’s nothing you can or want to do about it, do yourself a favour and let it go.

And also, get some perspective.

Ask yourself how important this thing you’re hung up on really is in the grand scheme of life (and not just your own). Is it that serious, or dire? With all the tragedies, and all the other ways you could be spending your energy, should thinking about this thing really be one of them? In most cases, the answer will be no – and letting go, won’t be so hard after all.

Going back to my story above, after about half a day of replaying the comment in my head and lamenting over how annoying it must have sounded, I finally came to the brilliant realization that it had been said and that there was nothing I could or should do about it. 

...except of course, to let it go. Which means no more thinking or talking about it, accepting that I'm not perfect and acknowledging that my intentions were good. Surely, the Universal with all its infinite grace could hold this one tiny error of mine in a safe space, that no longer diverted my attention from the other wonderful things I could be doing and contributing.Holding on to the past keeps us stagnant; it distracts us from getting proper sleep, doing our work, enjoying our time, connecting with our friends and ourselves and living the life that’s actually happening right now. Living in the past and missing the present moment, keeps us from living or giving, our full potential, because we are so wildly distracted with unproductive thoughts.

To let it go, is to let love and peace flow. You can’t feel these things fully when your thoughts are tied up in stories of the past. Letting go is literally like waving a wand and granting your soul the peace it so desires and so deserves.

Peace, love and let it go,

Diana