Letting Go

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and it's time for spring cleaning! I was rummaging through the tonnes of stuff that I've kept over the years and found a lot of notes, books and even toys from my childhood. As I picked each item from the pile, I began reminiscing fond memories. However, there's a Chinese saying that the old shall make way for the new, and eventually I threw them away. It was painful at first, but I guess this is what is meant by letting go.

I remember a story told by a course instructor about a lady that she had taught many years ago. Aware that the instructor was a counsellor by training, the lady approached the instructor and lamented about her overbearing boss. Years later, the two of them met by chance. The lady had aged tremendously and frantically arranged an appointment with the instructor. During their lunch appointment, the lady lamented more about her boss and by this time, it had gotten so bad that her husband and children were contemplating of leaving her if she continued to talk about him.

It was a case of not being able to let go. Perhaps we should adopt the CALM model developed by Barbara Braham. The acronym begins with Change and Accept. Change is inevitable in life and we need to learn to accept that fact. Once we've accepted change, we need to learn to Let Go and Manage your lifestyle. As human beings, we have a tendency to hold on to things. We hold on to feelings, people, places and so on. We need to learn to let go of all these attachments in order to move on in life. Lastly, we need to take responsibility and manage how we wish to live our lives.

Letting go can be difficult some times. However, we just need to realise that while pain is inevitable, emotional suffering is optional.