Letting Go

I have a friend who is going through a rough journey. Our paths are not actually very different, but I am further along than he is. Listening to him as he grows, and travels along, has given me some powerful perspective.

I have come to realize that the recent events in my life have set me up to let go of so much of my baggage. Why was I able to let go? That is the important question here. My friend can not seem to let go yet. Why? He wants to heal. What is standing in the way? Or really, what happened to me that set me up to be ready?

Friends.

I finally took the time to talk. I had always had a dark box in the pit of my belly. That is where I hid all my emotions. I allowed that box to open. I painfully went through the emotions I was hiding from. Everyone says theropy helps. I never put much stock into the whole theropy thing, but it turns out there is value to expressing and working through your feelings. I did not go to theropy, but I found people I could trust who really heard what I was saying. Their feedback helped me understand myself.

The mirror that my friends held up to my face helped me see that some of the baggage I was holding so tightly to was useless. Some of the baggage has merit, but does not define me as a person. Some of the baggage is still too big for me to work through. I am on my way, not done haha.

I am posting this because I find value in pointing out the irony here... pushing away your feelings does not make them go away. There is an invisible elastic band that binds us to our past. The only way to make it go away is to chose to let go.

The only way to let go is to face the pain. No drugs, no alcohol, no shame, no fear. Every wound needs air to heal.