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Let go and take a ride.
Posted on June 17, 2012 by ccdavis in To Inspire
This Weekly Me is about what it really means to let go.Imagine yourself on a beautiful beach. It is almost deserted. You drop your towel and wade into the water. It feels wonderful. You decide to float on your back. As you do so your eyes are closed and all you can hear is the deep loud sound of your breath going in and out. You let go.
You float and relax. You breathe. In and out. You are not concerned about where the water is taking you. You just float to be taken with the current. You let the ocean control your destiny.
At some point you open your eyes and find that you are further down the beach then you had realized. You simply get out of the water and head back towards your towel. It was nice letting the ocean do all the work so you decide to get back in and do it all over again.
Life should be like this for all of us. It is just like the ocean in that there is a current. If we can let go and ride the current of life it will take us where we need to be; where we are meant to be. And we will enjoy the ride.
Instead we get tied to the outcome. I’ve heard this thought a lot lately. We get tied to what it will look like when it is all over or how we will get there. We worry. We resist. We control. We predict. That’s not letting go. That’s still expecting things to turn out the way we want them and if they don’t it’s over. The message is clear; things will always happen as they are meant to. No matter how much we may hope, worry or long to control it.
What it means to let go is to apply for the job but do not expect that getting this specific job is the only thing that will make you happy.
It means try out for the team, do your best, but in the end know it is not up to you.
It means you can like someone but whether or not they like you back is beyond your control.
It means take a risk but don’t expect that there is only one path to success.
It means stop hating where you are in life feeling like there is no way out.
Let go and let life control your destiny. It is going to anyway no matter how much we might think otherwise.
Imagine if we stopped floating and fought against where the ocean wanted to take us. First of all it would defeat the purpose of why we were floating to begin with and second, we’d be exhausted and anything but relaxed. When we fight against the current in our lives we become just that; exhausted and stressed out. Instead we understand that fighting in the ocean is not the answer; letting go is. That’s where the true enjoyment in the experience lies. Life can and should be just like that.
Trust me when I say I have not mastered this idea in every aspect of my life. I literally work at it every day. I try as it relates not only to me but most definitely when it comes to my kids and their journey.
For my kids that is the hardest. Don’t we always want a happy ending for them? For them to always get what they want especially when they work hard for it? But then that’s being tied to the outcome and is not letting the current of life take them where they are meant to be.
I take baby steps and every day I release the urge to think that only one way that the story should end is the right way. I resist the urge to predict, control and fight against where it is I am meant to be led; where my kids are meant to be led.
I let go.
I imagine I am right back on that beautiful stretch of deserted beach. Floating, breathing and letting the ocean control my destiny. I imagine my kids and husband floating along with me each of us riding the current of life. Feels so good. We don’t yet know where we will end up but we know we’re going somewhere; where we are meant to be. That is the beauty of life.
Happy Father’s Day to my husband who is the most amazing father. I have the pleasure every day of sharing the journey of raising two kids with him. I could not have asked for a better man.
Let me know what you think.
Until next time….
Devoted to Me begins with me and continues to you. Accept it. Pass it on.
Love it and so true!
This one made me pause for a moment. Letting go…it sounds simple, even nice and practical. I can grasp how that would make my existance easier. I don’t even know how I would begin to embarq on such an endeavour without having an anxiety attack (and that stinks). I’m open to suggestions
….
I know exactly how you feel. By no means do I profess to be an expert in this area. I started just like you. I wanted an easier existence for myself and family. When I write these blogs it is because I am in the midst of trying to better myself and sharing how it is that I’m doing it. I am hoping to inspire others.
Letting go is anything but simple or easy. Why I created Devoted to Me was because I wanted to on one hand let go but also ensure that my kids were being led down a path where they were taking responsibility for who they are and felt their own power. It is a heavy concept. I realized that I really created it to speak to myself but more to my 12 year old daughter, Sidney. I have since written a book that my nieces are illustrating that speaks to the younger kids like my son who is 9 years old. The book is not ready yet though.
It is baby steps. And it is situation by situation. Making sure that you are staying present in the moment when in the midst of any situation. Lots and lots of breathing.
If you think about it what is within our control? Only our own choices and how we react in any situation. As a wife I’m here to support my husband but what he does and how he does it is up to him. As a mother I’m here to support, guide, push, inspire, empower but ultimately it is up to them. It is a constant state of reminding myself that there is only so much I can do and beyond that I have to let go. This is so HARD. Thus the mediation of breathing and reminding myself that we are all on a journey and life is a current. We will all ultimately be led to the place we are meant to be regardless of what I try to say or do.
I know you are going through something with your mom?
I’m not sure you remember my dad. He was the true patriarch of our family. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009. This is when the need to shift within myself really began. I decided when he was diagnosed that I wanted to get something out of the experience. What, I had no idea, but I knew this was going to be a life altering forever changing experince. I gave myself permission and freedom to feel everything. I also let go of the outcome. I do not know why but I understood that this was his journey not mine. No matter what I could not control the outcome. I just felt that and accepted that. I did though INVOLVE myself. I went to every doctors apt. I went to some of his chemo. I was at my parents house every other day. I had conversations with him after we knew he was not going to make it. We talked about dying and taking care of my mom after he was gone. I still feel it was the most beautiful experience of my life.
You have a beautiful family. Always remember that life is a journey and we are going where we are meant to go. I truly believe this. Hang in there and breathe. Picture yourself in that ocean.
Sorry for the long response! As you can see I have a lot to say. Take care.
Christie