Let it Go/Let it Be – Surrendering/Acceptance

Surrendering is an action.  You release, you let go.

Acceptance is a state of being.  You let everything live and let live without judgment.  This does not mean you must approve, endorse or submit to anybody’s behavior, it just means you must accept that this is the way that they are behaving and alas you do not have the power to stop them so stop trying to control it, them or anything.  You can bring it (whatever) to someone’s attention, but be prepared to be impaled, ignored or ridiculed.

The same goes for any situation.  I am not accepting reality if I do not acknowledge what is going on.  Closely related to denial, non-acceptance takes on many forms.  Again, though, I do not have to approve or like my situation for me to be in full acceptance.  This is nearer the experience of forgiveness for you ultimately forgive or accept so you can be at peace.

Letting go allows room for new experiences.

Releasing situations, beliefs, patterns and relationships that have seen better days or never worked towards your higher good is a practical way for different dreams, hopes, people and aspirations to move into your life.  Think of ‘letting go’ as a healthy cleanse.

Before you take on 2014 perhaps it is wise to review 2013.

For me, last year was the year of letting go.

I get the feeling this year will be the year of acceptance.  Not that I am looking forward to it, but every year seems to have issues that crop up repeatedly that I need to address and I can sense acceptance will be this year’s theme.

Last year, I let go of a dear friend whom lives on in my heart.  By allowing me to be by her side, as she received the news in the hospital, as they brought her home for hospice and to be intimately invited into her dire situation, closely amid her family, she healed a wound she knew I had of missing out on another friend’s last weeks of life.  That was her last gift to me.  We let her go, having said all there was to say.  She lives on beyond her generosity and valor.

Last year, I let go, so to speak, of my last chickadee, when she went off to college.  Every time I say good-bye to one of my children as they fly off, drive off or walk away…. It is a letting go.  I heard somewhere, once and not too long ago, that a mom’s job is to raise her children and to let them go, continuously.  When they are learning to crawl, eat, cruise, walk, run, ride a bike, swim, go to kindergarten, etc… we are letting them go… so they can grow.

Last year, I let go on many levels in many ways.  We all shed parts of ourselves as we mature and change.

There are times when you have no choice in the matter, like a death, illness, accident, the natural cycle of life.

There are times when you opt to let go of your own accord, like a career path, a style of dress or hair, an ideology, a perspective, a routine or an acquaintance.

As I develop more into who I am at this moment in time and in this place in my life, I realize time is fleeting and I really try to let go more readily because I have been shown time and again, there is always something brand new or renewed or revisited or totally unexpected, just around the bend.

As I let go of 2013, I look ahead to 2014 and will try to remember to accept the things I cannot change and change the things I can, like myself.  The wisdom as the saying goes is in knowing the difference or shall I say in letting go of my ego, getting humble, realizing I do not know anything except my own experience and remaining teachable.

Happy New Year!