When I see a broken branch hanging in a tree, I’m reminded of a moment in a wood when I realised that I need to let go of things that are important to me. I’ve noticed that trees are very good at shedding their dead wood but that I often need reminding.
Early on in a walk its worth considering, what can we let go of?
Letting go can be liberating. Sometimes we hold onto things because we’ve not worked them out, even though that may not be possible, unless we let them go.
I remember walking alongside someone who had become entangled in a host of confused feelings that seemed to pull them in different directions. As we walked they were able to look at each of these, one by one, in the cold light of day, and let go. As they did so, it became increasingly clear that underneath all this confusion was a simple question which, as is often the case, contained its own answer.
I’m intrigued by how closely aligned letting go is with acceptance. Like a gift that must be both given and accepted, each is closely involved with the other. It’s worth remembering that a gift is not a gift if it comes with strings attached and that nothing can be free until we let it go.
As the trapeze artists knows only too well, all development requires letting go.
Some questions to consider:
- What can we let go of?
- Are we carrying more than we need?
- What are we holding on to, that we could let go of?
- Why is it hard to let go?
Other words to reflect on:
- Acceptance
- Allow
- Open
- Freedom
Arts in Development 