Letting Go Is Always Easier

Letting go can mean so many things....realizing the thing we want to hold on to, no longer wants to hold on to us; accepting that the season of a relationship has ended;  and forgiving someone who we feel hurt us; overcoming deep grief and sadness. 

"With forgiveness, my life is no longer defined by the pain, but by the future possibilities." Dr. Dick Tibbits

Eckhart Tolle believes we create and maintain problems because they give us a sense of identity. Perhaps this explains why we often hold onto our pain far beyond its ability to serve us.

Holding on to those feelings of rejection, anger, grief, and sadness, can create an emotional prison.   Imagine yourself stuck in a place with people who wounded you as a child; friends who may have wronged you; a spouse who betrayed your trust or spoke hurtful words; a parent, sibling, or other family member....all trapped in this jail of your own making.


This prison is a room in your heart.  It exists in you everyday.  And....not far away, Forgiveness stands there, extending to you a key that will release every inmate.

Choosing not forgive or let go is like refusing that key.  It is choosing to stay in this emotional prison.  Your unforgiveness, anger, and bitterness have made YOU a prisoner as well.  Your freedom is now dependent on your forgiveness.

You can choose to see the dangers and risks involved with forgiving and letting go.  For example, what they did was really wrong.  The other person may not be sorry.  They may feel perfectly justified in their actions, even blaming you for it.  Often times, the resistance to forgiving comes from a place of righteousness, the need to be right at any cost....so that the other person is wrong.  The refusal to forgive and let go can come from fear....fear of not knowing who you will be without the anger, bitterness, and sadness.  After all, this is what you have clung to as your identity.  It has consumed your heart and your beingness.  Without it, then what?

Here is something to remember.....
Forgiveness and Letting Go doesn't clear anyone of blame.  It does not clear their record with God.  Forgiveness and Letting Go clears you of having to worry about how to punish them.  It frees you and your spirit to live out your life according to God's purpose.  When you forgive, you are turning that person over to God, who can be counted on to deal with them His way.  You are no longer having to script any arguments or trying to prevail in this situation.  
Forgiveness and Letting Go are not about winning and losing.  It is all bout Freedom.

To Let Go.....
To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means  the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,  but to allow others to affect their destinies.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.      
To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To let go is to FEAR LESS and LOVE MORE.

What are you holding on to?  
How strong is your desire to released from your emotional prison?

How do you begin to Let Go?

• Change your perception.  Be grateful for the experience and what you can learn from it.
• Channel your discontent into an immediate positive action
• Focus all your energy on something you can actually control, instead of dwelling on things you can’t.
• Remind yourself that anger hurts you more than the person who upset you,
• If possible, express your anger to the person who offended you. Keep in mind that you can’t control how to offender responds; you can only control how clearly and kindly you express yourself.
• Take responsibility. Many times when you’re angry, you focus on what someone else did that was wrong—which essentially gives away your power. When you focus on what you could have done better, you often feel empowered and less bitter.
• Remind yourself that Forgiveness and Letting Go is not about the other person, or past event.  It is about giving yourself the gift of freedom.  It about living your life on God's purpose.  

Letting Go and Forgiving takes courage, acceptance and love. 
Feel free to share your insights and if you liked what you read, please pass this along to those you cherish in your life.

Blessings!