We all are holding on to things that we shouldn't be trying to hold on to. Those things, unfortunately, tend to hold us back from advancing in life--they tend to keep us just where we are even when we want to get somewhere else. Perhaps we still dwell on how someone else hurt us. Maybe we think constantly about how great that relationship was, and how we wish we had it again. I've known people who still talk about high school every single day, decades after they graduated from it. But letting go allows us to look at right here and right now rather than dwelling on yesterday's occurrences and actions. Telling ourselves, "It's over and done with, and it's time to leave it in the past, where it belongs," helps us to see very clearly that our obligations and responsibilities lie in the present moment, and that holding on to something from the past can not be an effective way of living our lives. If it's a hurt, we're choosing to allow that hurt to continue to do us damage. If it's a regret, we can never reach today's potential while wallowing in regret. If it was something wonderful, we're wasting time trying to relive what has already past.
Ask yourself: Do I want to hold on, or move on?
There are things that we never want to let go
of, people we never want to leave behind.
But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end
of the world; it’s the beginning of a new life.
unattributed
We've grown to be a very arrogant race. We take what we want from this planet when we want it, and almost always on our own terms, not on terms that may benefit the earth. We usually expect other people to act in ways that we consider to be appropriate, and we feel justified in becoming upset when they don't do so. And on, and on. Yet most of us, if someone were to ask us, would say that we're definitely not arrogant. The truth is, though, that we've come to regard humility as weakness, and we do not want to appear weak to anyone at any time. That's just simply not acceptable in our culture, and we allow our culture and our society to determine how we're going to act more than we allow our instinct and our knowledge of what's right and wrong to influence us. There are many benefits to humility, though, not the least of which is peace of mind and peace of heart. When we acknowledge the facts that we are just one among many millions of people and just a very small part of this planet and universe of ours, we can start to see that it's important that we see ourselves realistically and stop trying to fool ourselves into thinking that we have much more power and influence than we truly do. Being humble is far from being weak--being humble strengthens us and allows us to keep balance and peace of mind in our lives when others are losing their grips on their unrealistic ideas of "being in control" and needing others to do things as they think they should be done.
Never take a leaf or move a pebble without asking permission. Always ask permission. That maintains the balance and teaches humility. That leaf you want to pluck could be far more important than the little purpose you have in mind. You don't know--so ask permission first. -Don José Matsuwa
