Letting Go

“Letting it go – it is a rite of passage.  We all face those moments throughout our lives. Time and circumstance repeatedly require that we let go of what we know – the old, the familiar, the comfortable – and embrace the “next”. There are people who spend their whole lives resisting those moments.  They hold on, physically or energetically to the past, and they never really find peace in the present.  Whether we must move beyond a person, a property, an employment, a location, an activity or something else, we have only two choices.  We can go gently and easily – or not. We can go confidently – or fearfully.  We can go looking forward – or looking back.  We can hold on, or we can let go. What has been, whether you judge it good or bad, has been filled with lessons, and blessings, and experiences.  Honor them all.  Take the time to remember with gratitude and appreciation.  Understand that nothing you have ever done will ever be lost.  The energy will be a part of you forever.  It has made you what you are today.  What will be, will be what you create. If you move forward hopefully, happily, expectantly and joyfully, then that will be your new experience.  We can drag the past with us as heavy baggage, or we can carry the blessings and memories of the past as a beautiful memento. We can face the future with apprehension or with faith. One thing is certain.  there will always be a past we must make peace with.  There will always be a future we must live.  The way we let go can make all the difference.”

I will never forget the circumstances of hearing this beautiful message for the first time. After Coleen’s death, I wanted to busy myself with healing methods and I knew that yoga was one that would be good for me. I attended a six week Introduction to Yoga class that ended just before Christmas and planned to start with regular classes shortly after. But time got away from me and I found myself in the final days of January without going back to yoga. One day I decided that I would attend the next day’s 9:30 AM class. It was a class that Coleen often attended and enjoyed. The next morning was bitter cold but sunny and I was enjoying the sunshine and some new music I had never heard on my way to yoga. I felt remarkably positive and upbeat as I drove and just had a good feeling about where I was going and what I was doing. I felt a strong series of goosebumps up and down my spine for several minutes as I got closer to my destination. That always means someone is watching me.

Yoga was wonderful. It was the first real yoga class I had ever attended beside the intro classes. But this was the first time I was expected to know what I was doing and I felt quite comfortable being there. Not just comfortable but like I belonged. Toward the end of that class, we were relaxing in a meditative posture and our instructor, Susan, started to read something. Susan has a very soft, calming nature to her voice and I had to listen closely to hear. She was reading a reflection that spoke of letting go of the past and embracing the present and future. It was a very emotional message and as she read further and I heard more, it was impossible for me not to think the entire message was meant just for me. And that although it was being spoken by Susan, it was really being delivered to my ears and my heart by Coleen. It touched me with emotion and love. I asked Susan after class about the reading and she had it emailed to me and I have passed it on to many people since. And many of the people I sent it to have also shared it. I have no idea how many people have been touched by “Letting Go” just because I decided to go to my first yoga class that day, but I am quite happy about it. After all, had I waited for another time to go, I would not have heard that reading and neither would anyone else.