The Art Of Letting Go Of Things That No Longer Serve You

This past week, on Ash Wednesday, I reflected on the art of Letting Go.

As you might know, I’ve been working on writing my memoir. My journals that I’ve kept since I was nine years old are a great resource.

I read one entry this week that triggered an intense feeling of sadness. I thought about it for a bit, letting the tears come and trying to understand it…

Then I asked my 20-year-old self: “What were you looking for? What was it that you needed?” (This is a great tool I learned in therapy – for healing the broken, or unprocessed parts of our past.)

“I didn’t even know” was the only answer that came to me.

I had love. I had so much love that surrounded me then…the only love I didn’t have was love and compassion for myself. I was incredibly hard on myself.

The reason why we still feel sadness about something that happened 30 years ago is because we are still attached to some emotional pain from that time.

“Let it go,” I said out loud and inhaled deeply. Then I exhaled and felt peace. I know it now.

“You will know soon enough,” I said to my 20 year old self. “Thank you for not giving up hope. You did your best. Your perseverance and your pain, which you so beautifully recorded, helped bring healing. Thank you for being strong and resilient. You are loved. I love you.”

This process of acknowledging and addressing those hurting parts of ourselves can help us ‘make peace’ with our past. Only then are we able to let it go.

The next morning, I was ready for a new, productive week. After a workout (I’m doing it people, I’m doing it!) I sat in my office looking at the piles of stuff that accumulated while I was traveling, taking care of Blais and his flu, and having a grand time with our out-of-town guests who were visiting. I felt overwhelmed.

I needed to answer emails and address pressing tasks, but I simply couldn’t make myself do what I’ve been doing for the past two weeks: push everything off to the sides of my desk, making a space big enough to access my computer keyboard and mouse, and taking care of what’s most pressing.

So… I put the radio on (yes, I still have an old fashioned boom box with a FM radio) and slowly started working through the piles on my desk, my bookshelf and even my cabinets.

I found so many things that I was holding onto because of some emotional attachment: cards, old notebooks, nick-knacks and old electronics.

Each thing that I handled and felt no longer served a purpose or brought me joy, I decided to let go of. I filled three boxes – recycling paper, trash and donations.

Before I let go of an item, if it triggered an emotional reaction in me (sadness, grief, regret, overwhelm), I simply thanked it (silently) for the purpose it served at one time.

I hope this story can inspire you to intentionally let go of feelings, thoughts and, yes, things that don’t bring you joy.

That’s a good fasting challenge, don’t you think? Even if it might seem a bit contradictory – as we are taught to let go of things that bring us joy, not that bring us pain.

The beautiful part of this process is that in order to experience the Joy of New Life (resurrection), we have to let go of the pain. And the only way to let go of pain is to acknowledge it, handle it, address it, and process it.

Ready?

I’m here if you need some support as you go through the ‘purging’ 🙂 Also, my online coaching program offers daily guidance and challenges that can help you through this

This week’s song talks about the past and present, so I decided to share it with you! 🙂 It’s called “Where or When”, from our “Waking Up in America” show. (The sound was recorded live through the camera, so keep that in mind.)

Tatiana “Tajci” Cameron is an award-winning music artist, published author, inspirational speaker, and certified transformational and spiritual life coach.

She has many passions and is dedicated to helping others while also creating an enriched life for herself and her three sons. When Tajci is not on the road performing gigs, she volunteers with local organizations dear to her heart, spends time with loved ones (often involving music!), and collaborates with other artists to bring creative projects to life.

Tajci’s most recent projects include a meditation CD, an annual retreat & sea cruise in Croatia (that she organizes and hosts), and a multimedia CD/book (Un)Broken: Songs My Father Taught Me.

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