“Some birds
are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their
songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed
them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong
to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you
live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.” ~ Stephen King ~
One of the hardest
things in life is to let go of the people we love the most. We hold on to those
close to us so tightly, fearing that without them we will be nothing. Fearing
that without them the love we feel in our hearts will be forever lost. Our
attachment interferes with the love we have for them, taking away from the
purity and the beauty that love has to offer.
Deepak
Chopra says it best with these words: “Love allows your beloved the freedom to
be unlike you. Attachment asks for conformity to your needs and desires. Love
imposes no demands. Attachment expresses an overwhelming demand – Make me feel
whole. Love expands beyond the limits of two people. Attachment tries to
exclude everything but two people.”
I
have been in a relationship with my former long-time boyfriend for
almost 10 years, on and off and even though our relationship became very toxic
after the first 3 years, I found it impossible to let go simply because I knew
that without him I would be very unhappy and the irony is that I was already
very unhappy, we both were.
“No matter how much suffering you went
through, you never wanted to let go of those memories.” ~ Haruki Murakami ~
Letting
go doesn’t have to be that hard, in fact, it becomes easier and easier as
we learn to accept, appreciate and love ourselves for who we are and for who we
are not. Releasing and letting go will help you return to a place of peace and
tranquility.
There
comes a time in our lives when we have to do what’s right and to honor not only
ourselves, but also the people around us. It’s the relationship that you
are letting go of but not the love you have for the other person.
If
you love something, if you love someone, and if you feel that you need to let
go of them, if it’s required to let go, do it. It might hurt at first but
once the pain is gone you will feel more alive than you have ever
felt. You will start to see things from a totally different perspective and
you will understand that letting go is a sign of strength, of courage and of
great love.
You
let go of someone not because you no longer care, not because you no longer
need and want them in your life, but because you understand that they will be
happier someplace else. You will be happy someplace else.
This
is what true love is all about.
Real
love transcends the material plane and no matter if your bodies are apart, your
souls will forever be connected.
“There is no such thing as a “broken
family.” Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates,
divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The
only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you
cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those
people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be
your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.” ~ C. JoyBell C. ~
If
you haven’t found a way to be at peace with yourself, and if you haven’t found
a way to be happy on your own, chances are that you won’t be happy next to the
person you love either. You can’t expect to get from others what you yourself
don’t have to offer.
Love
yourself. Be good to yourself.
Change
the thoughts you think and the words you speak. Purify your internal
dialogue. Learn to talk to, and about, yourself in the same way you would
talk to, and about, those you love the most.
Meditate.
Spend time alone. Take a walk and explore nature with your senses. Write
about your thoughts and feelings. Do something you’re passionate about. Go out
with your friends. Laugh, dance, be silly, be weird, be playful, be childlike.
Do all the things that bring you joy and laughter.
Treat
yourself with kindness, love and compassion and learn to express your gratitude
for the many gifts life offered you up until this moment.
Take
your focus away from those things that cause you to feel pain, stress, anxiety,
fear and unhappiness, on to those things that make your heart sing, on to those
things that make you happy.
This
too shall pass and the more you learn to enjoy your own company, the more
comfortable you will be with this idea of letting go and all of a sudden life
will become a lot easier.
“Be like the forces of nature: when it
blows, there is only wind; when it rains, there is only rain; when the clouds
pass, the sun shines through.” ~ Lao
Tzu, Tao Te Ching ~
Let
go and trust that maybe life has better plans for you. Go with the flow
and not against it.
Why
hold on to something good when life wants you to have something better?
