Let Go

“Do everything with a mind that lets go.  If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.  If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.  If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.  Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.”  (Achaan Chah)

I imagine many of you are saying, “Sounds great, but how do I do that?”  And that’s the perfect question!  First, I encourage you to go back and read my earlier post titled “Resign”, which talks about giving up the illusion of control. 

The truth is there are very few things we can control in this world!  One important thing we can control is our attitude, our internal climate, and how we choose to respond to situations and people.

We can control those ways we interact with the world, even though we cannot control what happens in the world, what others choose to do or say, what external circumstances occur, etc. 

The skills that we have added to our Toolbox of Life are the areas that we can influence:

• deciding not to judge,
• learning to notice and be more conscious of our thoughts and behaviors,
• choosing to accept ‘what is’,
• coming from love (not fear),
• being aware of our impact on others,
• choosing to expand (not contract),
• being happy,
• seeing with our heart,
• trying new things,
• mastering ourself,
• interpreting our own emotions properly,
• listening to our internal guidance,
• discerning our purpose in life,
• and living from our greatness.

By placing your attention on these areas that you can control and influence, you will be so focused that you won’t have time to worry anymore about trying to control the uncontrollable!  And that will lead to a feeling of freedom.

Our society has ingrained in us that we can control our destiny — what I know is that we can control ourselves, but not the external aspects of life.  By becoming the best self that we can be, we will be in the flow of all life, and will feel the amazing inner peace that comes from letting go.

“Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite:  that letting go is the real path to freedom.”  (Sogyal Rinpoche)

Tell us what experiences you’ve had with letting go — how did it turn out?  How did you feel?