You just need to ‘let go and let God!’  Ahhhh….terrific!  Great guidance.  And…Oh, SO Difficult!

Looking over my own life, and the lives of family, friends, and clients, I find that when in the space of ‘clinging’ to what we believe we want, what we think we need, or how we believe others should be, we actually stop the energy flow of ‘possibility’.  When we believe life should be so tightly defined that we don’t allow room for the creativity of other possibilities to unfold, we actually sabotage our own process and create clutter in the flow of our own healing, healthy energy.

I often think of the concept of ‘transformation’ and what that means for us living in this century, with all our possibilities.  I am reminded of the Butterfly and what it took to move through its own transformation. 

As a caterpillar, the being was simply crawling along in life, not sure of what direction it was taking.  Then one day, instinctually, it clung to a twig and began to form a cocoon around itself.  Did it have any idea why it was doing so?  I don’t know.  Yet it was doing what it was called to do: enter into the cocoon and allow the transformation to occur.

In order for the caterpillar to transform into a beautiful butterfly, as it was wrapped in the cocoon, it first had to ‘let go’ of the twig it was clinging to.  The caterpillar had to trust and fall into the cocoon.  Had it continued to cling to the twig, perhaps frightened of letting go, it could never experience the totality of metamorphosis. It would never have transformed into a being that could not only have the freedom to fly but also bring such delight and beauty to others.

We know that for life to be lived in the fullest manner possible, it is important to have a vision and to be clear about what it is that we want.  Sometimes though, the clinging to what we think life should be can take on a destructive pattern. This pattern of clinging keeps us from living the freedom, the beauty, the mystery that we are called to live.

I know in my own life, there have been chapters when I clung so tightly to what I believed should be happening that I did indeed impede my own transformation.  My energy was stuck. There was no flow to my life or my relationships.  I just could not figure out why things weren’t working the way I thought they should.

I was certain that if I just ‘affirmed’ and ‘visioned with enough feeling’,  my husband would be cured of cancer, my closest friend would get sober, people would show up differently than they were, and on and on… all would be right.  It was only when I came to a place of ‘letting go’ of the exactness of how life should look, of trusting, that, just like the butterfly, I was in a space to experience the fullness of the mystery of life.

When I finally did ‘let go’, I experienced a profound knowingness that: what I did have control over was how I chose to ‘show up’, not the journeys or life lessons of others.  I would hear my own calling, I could flow into my own life work.  When I allowed myself to let go and fall into this cocoon of knowingness, the metamorphosis began. During this time, I found the following to be a mantra and great comfort:

 

 LET GO AND LET GOD

 AS CHILDREN BRING THEIR BROKEN DREAMS,

WITH TEARS FOR US TO MEND,

 SO I BROUGHT MY BROKEN DREAMS TO GOD,

BECAUSE GOD WAS MY FRIEND.

 BUT THEN, INSTEAD OF LEAVING GOD

IN PEACE TO WORK ALONE,

 I HUNG AROUND AND TRIED TO HELP,

WITH WAYS THAT WERE MY OWN.

 AT LAST, I SNATCHED THEM BACK AND CRIED,

“HOW COULD YOU BE SO SLOW?!”

 “MY CHILD,” GOD SAID,

“WHAT COULD I DO?  YOU NEVER DID

‘LET GO’?”

                                                                                              (Author unknown)

How often we think that we have let go, only to snatch it back.  The gift is in placing it gently in the hands of God and then walking away, trusting in the goodness of the Universe and the possibility of true transformation.  May we all ‘show up’ each day in the flow of letting go, and living in wonder, curiosity, trust, beauty, gratitude, and pure JOY! 

Have you had experiences where you have clung tightly to what you think needs to happen?  Or perhaps you let go, only to snatch it back?  What have been your experiences of really letting go…releasing it into the hands of God?  I’d love to hear from you.  Blessings….

3 thoughts on “The Freedom of ‘Letting Go’

  1. Roxana Serafin says:

    Dear Anna,

    it has taken me this long to find the right time to get back in touch with you. Funny enough Im having a discourse with a friend about the beauty of transformation and that is what inspired me to look at your website and share it with this friend.

    It is truly “kismet” how our knowing each other has come about and continues to create itself. Well here I am and can be reached at the above ;D

    I also have skype which helps with the distance, roxana.serafin

    Hope your well and that we can touch base sometime soon.

    Love Roxy

  2. Patti says:

    Your post gives all of us a valuable lesson, and I love the poem “Let Go and Let God.” A similar analogy involves holding sand in the palm of our hand. If we close our hand and squeeze tightly so keep the sand just the opposite happens- the sand falls through our fingers. But if we hold it gently, it stays put and we can ponder the magic of those sand particles that were once rocks and mountains. As you said, live the experience and leave it in God’s hand.

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