Letting Go

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.

Jack Kornfield

Letting go of ruminating thoughts, past grievances, and habitual ways of reacting can seem impossible to release. We become lost in the stories we have been telling ourselves, sometimes for a lifetime.  As we grant ourselves the freedom to just be, we recognize that the foundations of mindfulness are linked together. When we “let go” we become more patient with ourselves and develop non-judgmental trust.  We adopt a beginner's mind as we accept what is and we can discern the benefits. The consistent practice of meditation and breathwork can guide the attitudinal foundations to become the norm and response to whatever is happening.   

Try this the next time you are overwhelmed with reactive ways of thinking and acting. Find a grounded position, feet flat on the floor, make a fist with both hands as you inhale through the nose and then as you exhale through the nose slowly open the hands, maybe shaking from the wrist. Repeat two more times. Physically symbolizing the act of mentally letting go, with the hands, now imagine releasing those ruminating thoughts from the mind. Visualize the ruminating thoughts disappearing.