Would you say that you are a person who easily lets go of the past?
For many of us, the tendency to cling to pleasant experiences or to ruminate on unpleasant ones is a common pattern.
It’s human nature to want to prolong our memories of joyful events with loved ones, our personal successes or fun adventures we’ve been on.
And on the flip side, it is also in our nature to puzzle over less positive happenings and to hold on to grievances about past perceived wrongs.
However, it is this very pattern of holding on to what is in the past that creates much of the stress we experience in our lives.
As I reacclimate to being back in the US after two months in my heartland of Spain, I have been reflecting on this skill of Letting Go.
I want to cling to the sound of church bells ringing, the music of Spanish voices, the taste of café con leche, the different cadence of life, and the ability to walk every morning in such natural and cultural beauty.
Most of all, I miss the expansive experience of being where I feel most alive.
My mindfulness practice teaches me to be with this transitional feeling of loss without getting lost in it. I name my clinging thoughts as they occur, feel their impact in my body, and notice what emotions arise.
I allow my experience to be exactly what it is.
And then I make the conscious choice to let it go. To be here now with what is present.
This choice is a powerful one.
It is a decision to release stressful resistance to my current state and focus my energy and attention on creating what I want, from where I am.
Power resides in the present moment, and living in the past disconnects me from it.
I remind myself of this choice again and again, as I practice Letting Go.
As we enter this time of shifting seasons, we are offered many opportunities to practice this skill of Letting Go.
Summer to fall, warm temperatures to cold, volatile weather patterns, major world events, and the upcoming holidays – these all can create pleasant and unpleasant associations based on our unique life experiences.
How will we choose to meet each transition as it arises?
When you observe your mind grasping at something that has passed or pushing away some new experience, you can:
🍃 Bring awareness to the thoughts you are having
🍃 Allow yourself to feel any emotions that arise
🍃 Notice where you feel sensation in your body
And then remind yourself to let go of the impulse to cling or to resist, just to see what will happen if you do.
That’s how you start to unwind the stress cycle. One step at a time, until Letting Go into the present moment becomes your default way of being.
Wishing you a week of ease and grace.
Let your wisdom lead,
Robin
Comments