The Art of Letting Go

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, months or years when
all of your efforts seem to get their wings clipped and become grounded?
After stalling in the birth canal and trying to change the direction of movement of things, I was finally born on a hot summer day. I came in with the idea that I could push a river and make things happen faster than their natural rhythm. Sounds God-like to me! A lot of my growing up, that I am still in the process of doing (I’ll let you know when I get there!) has to do with learning to be patient, letting things unfold on their own time and accepting that I am not really in control (apologies to my lovely Leo ego).
Learning to step back, take a breath or two and let things happen is difficult to do when you are a natural born fixer. Many of us healer types have radar for things that are out of balance and in need of adjustment and we just can’t wait to get in there and do something about it. But sometimes we just have to wait and be okay with waiting. So I breathe deeply, ground myself in the present moment and focus on the perfection of things as they are. When I am always scoping around for things in need of fixing my view gets narrow and I can’t see the bigger picture. I miss the beauty that is surrounding me, the joy of the journey and the awe of being alive.
Fortunately my Jin Shin Jyutsu® self care routine and my daily meditation practice usually help me to realize when I am spinning into fix it mode and awaken me to the fact that there is something in me that needs attention and healing. I also start to get the point when accomplishing my daily tasks becomes elusive. Phone connections are not made and telephone tag continues, appointments are forgotten or rescheduled, information gathering is unsuccessful – seemingly nothing is happening and I start to feel like an airplane circling the airport in a holding pattern. Eventually the aha moment comes and I realize that it is time to stop trying and let things come in their own time and on their own terms.
Just because I realize that it is letting go time doesn’t mean that it comes easily. Sometimes my body or mind will remain in the doing pattern and a conflict between my accepting spirit and my fixing mind and body will develop.
So I breathe some more and begin holding my Safety Energy Lock 12’s on the sides of my neck half way between my skull and my shoulders. They assist me to reconnect with Universal Will, aka the big picture, and l feel my shoulders drop and my body and mind take their foot off of the gas pedal and let things coast. It is challenging times like these that make me very grateful for my Jin Shin Jyutsu® toolbox.
To let go of writing this piece and bring it to a close I offer Lao Tzu’s words “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.”