Well I am the master or at least the one who knows the national list of days. Today is no different. Today is National Let it go day. What a great day to let things go. If you can read this blog today, than you are on the good side of life regardless of what your situations, relationships, situationships, etc. say.
Letting Go Is Never Easy
You are in the right place at the right time. I know that seems a little scary when you have your eyes on the things around you. Letting go is hard. It is allowing a charge that is usually rightfully placed and letting it go. Now in letting it go it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t bother you. It means you are simply taking the sting away from your heart and mind. You are not allowing the person or thing to drive you one way or another.
Stages of Letting Go
Letting go has many stages. Sometimes you are mad as hell, and sometimes you cry. Sometimes you are sad, and often times want to scream or even hit something or someone. Let’s be real. Folks want to paint letting it go like its all flowers and roses and it’s not. We ALL have been in situations where we have opened ourselves to something or someone and have been hurt, disappointed or even broken. We vow never to allow it again but guess what hurt comes in waves and in many forms.
Protect Your Peace
As you protect yourself from pain understand that it’s a necessary part of life. One thing I need to say is this, in letting go you need to get it out. Often we want to be tough cookies and are walking around cess pools of emotions because we don’t release it. You have to get it out. How you get it out is not by self medicating. You need to talk about it, be honest about how what happened and how it made you feel, and then replace it with better things. I’ve had to release some relationships that didn’t serve me anymore but when I see those same people nothing moves on the inside of me.
Release People
It’s like seeing an ex and they are just a person. You remember the good and the bad but it doesn’t make it uneasy to be around them because the sting of what they did, said or how they treated you has been released. You can’t continue to hold onto bitter things. It won’t yield anything positive in your life.
If Peace isn’t There Release It
Any relationship that you cut off will come with peace especially if it’s for the right reasons. When others feel like they are still stinging you, they will continue in the same pattern. You can break it with your responses to them. Some adults are oversize kids in the way they carry themselves. Your age and stage in life doesn’t bring maturity. Maturity is in your growth and how open to change you are. I know 50 plus women and men still acting childish, still causing confusion like high school girls and guys, still sleeping around from bed to bed, and still ain’t got life figured out. You have to see past people’s tactics.
Letting Go To Benefit You
Letting it go doesn’t benefit the other party. It’s cleanses you. It makes you whole. It gives you peace. Do you know of the many people who are dead and in shallow graves still got hold on folks that are alive today? You still mad at someone from 20 years ago, how does that serve you? How does that anger help make you better? Don’t wonder why you still stuck in the same circle. You know why. It’s called not letting go. It’s called un-forgiveness.
Forgiveness is Hard but Healing Comes in Waves
Let me end this nugget on forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to entertain people or take the relationship back to the same place before the offense. Some people think that if you don’t break bread with them or hang out with them, call them etc. you don’t forgive. Your attendance to my life doesn’t mean anything. People need that to feel like things are okay. If you have said what needed to be said and you and another person have made peace but don’t interact it is well.
No Front Seats
People can’t expect to do wrong and get a front seat in the arena of your life. No, you can love folks from afar. That means you do not wish them negativity. I refuse to allow folks a continued seat in my life knowing they are Judas. Judas in Jesus’ day was necessary for us to know that if we had someone betray us we could handle it. However the other lesson is that once Judas is found out in your life its okay to wish Judas well from the other side of the tracks but not invite Judas over for coffee. You don’t have to mend relationships back to where they are made.
Cut it Off: Letting it Go
Another example, if you drop a cup but put it back together with glue, it works but it will never look like the original cup before the fall. It may still be useful in allowing one to drink from it, but it won’t have the same value as it did. Some relationships are like broken cups. They are useful to an extent but the value of the relationship may not be the same. You can move on, close doors, and leave peace with others. Leaving them with peace is a lot better than leaving them in pieces. I know I have moments where the latter was definitely an option or at least that’s how I felt in the moment.
Reminders
All have been on both sides of hurt. The ones that have been hurt as well as hurt others.
- Remember your words are life and death literally. You can speak things on and into folks that literally can change them for the better or spiral them into an out of control state. Be careful of what you say.
- If you are the offender, be honest about what you said or did. For example, don’t do half apologies when you are wrong. Accept what you did and make it right.
- Stop trying to force relationships. People can be seasonal and its okay.
- Family is not a reason to accept disrespect. I get Ask Toi questions all the time the title that someone has is not an open invitation for foolishness. You can respect someone’s title/place from a far.
- Walk in your age. If you want respected for your age such as an elder, act like one. Yes I took it there but its true. There are a slew of young folks that have been hurt by elders. As a mom even with my own little people I apologize quickly. Age means nothing when you hurt others. You just show you are an old fool. You can do anything with tact and understanding and when you have been in situations where you have shown less than that make it right. My great grandmother who passed away recently was 95 years young. We gave her respect not just because she was an elder but she actually treated people well. Others want the same but they lack tact in how they treat others. No one will rise up and call you blessed just because. You have to give respect in order to receive it and that’s across the board.
If there is an area you could use some help in letting go. Work on it. Talk to someone who can rightfully divide truth to you. I have been in things where I was right in what I said but wrong in how it was delivered. Be willing to take what someone said even if its said in anger and align yourself to be better.
It’s Not What They Call You, It’s What You Answer To
Just cause someone called you something you didn’t like if it was true, say ouch and make it right. Then you can deal with the delivery of the other person. Life is shorter and shorter these days. You need to let it go even if you have no desire to continue relationships like you once did. You have that right to leave them with peace and move on.
Forgiveness and Peace
When you forgive remember you will hear others bring you stories and things that were said. I got a call just last week on someone from a source I barely speak to. Isn’t that how it works? You been minding your business than bam, someone say, girl you know what so and so said about you? My response was simple. I said well thanks I’m sure there will be more lies before its all over.
I could have defended myself, but who was I proving myself to? To the one who spoke ill of me, they won’t care they started the lies. Surely me saying, I didn’t, it wasn’t me, wasn’t going to make me and the person come together and ride off into the sunset of love. I knew not to even entertain it because the same person that brought it to me will take something back and at 35 who has time for the back and forth? I don’t, too much live to life. Let it go!
