The Art of Letting Go

Most things in life will conform to the truth that 'practice makes perfect.' It's one of those maxims that prove themselves, time and time again. The more you drive, the better you get at it. The more you swim, the better you get at it. The more you assert yourself, the easier it gets to do it. The more you force yourself to interact with people, the less uncomfortable you feel having to do so. The more you keep at an instrument, the more skillful you get at it. In fact, your brain actually remodels itself with each repetition - it actually rewires itself. Your brain is actually quietly recruiting new neuron populations to support this new skill that you're working on, making it easier for it to process the experience, and the more neuron pathways there are, the faster you're able to process that skill.. or experience.

It seems that the only phenomenon in life that has escaped the clutches of this is the art of letting go. It never gets easier. You never get better at it. You never hurt less at having to let go. It's just as hard the 20th time, as it was the 1st time. It's as if we're all hard-wired to hold on. I've read somewhere that it takes more strength to let go than to hold on to something. I feel like the last 10 years of my life has been spent letting go of the things and people that have meant anything to me. You'd think it gets easier. You'd think I'd have developed neuron pathways in my brain that helps me let go faster and easier. But no. Each time it hurts. Each time it's hard, and each time I look at myself in the mirror and say 'suck it up, girl'. I certainly don't feel serene like this lady in the above picture seems to feel. No sirree. I want to stamp my feet, chuck a tantrum, break things and cry like a baby.

Sometimes I wonder if my letting go is my form of cowardice. I look back at my life and see all the people that have come and gone in my life and think.. man... have I just completely copped out? What if I had held on then? What if I hadn't walked away then? And now, what if I stepped out and held on? But... no... that's too hard... there's too much at stake.

Suck it up, girl.

"All the art of living lies in the fine art of letting go and holding on." - Havelock Ellis