"Some of us think that holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go." Herman Hesse As I reflect on my present life and the place I am in emotionally, spiritually and physically, I think about the lessons of letting go. The entire concept of letting go is quite liberating if you think about it. When you took your first steps, you needed to "let go" of the convenience of the ground, the security of a chair or the comfort of your parent's hand. You had to take a risk in order to reap a reward, or walk, for that matter. As you grew up, you began to make your first decisions on your own. Your parents had to learn the fundamental lesson that if you do not let your children go, they will not become their own person. You, as the child, probably made poor decisions, and most likely, swam in uncharted waters. Hopefully, like in my case, you never had a near-death experience. Oh, I had bruises, scrapes, and scars, but I also learned valuable lessons of what not to do. See, life is not fully and completely lived if you do not take risks. When you go on that flight to Africa as a single, 20 year old female in a country at the tail-end of a civil war or you tell someone you care about them, even though you are certain they do not return your feelings, something changes in you. These sort of things are daunting, but liberating at the same time. The lessons that I have also learned about taking risks, is that along with them, you must also learn to let go. Life, as we all very well know, is not perdictable. Curveballs are thrown at you, people you trust deeply, hurt you deeply. Marriages you thought were ideal end up broken. We cannot protect ourselves from the uncertainties of tomorrow, but we can let go of the things that are holding us back from taking a step of faith.
Today, I saw this picture. It brought me comfort and a thought. Sometimes, letting go seems like a hot air balloon, deflated on the ground. But the moment we let go, hop in that basket and begin to allow ourselves to be guided by the strength of the air balloon, we have the opportunity to see and do great things-like get a great view!
"Some of us think that holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go." Herman Hesse As I reflect on my present life and the place I am in emotionally, spiritually and physically, I think about the lessons of letting go. The entire concept of letting go is quite liberating if you think about it. When you took your first steps, you needed to "let go" of the convenience of the ground, the security of a chair or the comfort of your parent's hand. You had to take a risk in order to reap a reward, or walk, for that matter. As you grew up, you began to make your first decisions on your own. Your parents had to learn the fundamental lesson that if you do not let your children go, they will not become their own person. You, as the child, probably made poor decisions, and most likely, swam in uncharted waters. Hopefully, like in my case, you never had a near-death experience. Oh, I had bruises, scrapes, and scars, but I also learned valuable lessons of what not to do. See, life is not fully and completely lived if you do not take risks. When you go on that flight to Africa as a single, 20 year old female in a country at the tail-end of a civil war or you tell someone you care about them, even though you are certain they do not return your feelings, something changes in you. These sort of things are daunting, but liberating at the same time. The lessons that I have also learned about taking risks, is that along with them, you must also learn to let go. Life, as we all very well know, is not perdictable. Curveballs are thrown at you, people you trust deeply, hurt you deeply. Marriages you thought were ideal end up broken. We cannot protect ourselves from the uncertainties of tomorrow, but we can let go of the things that are holding us back from taking a step of faith. 
Today, I saw this picture. It brought me comfort and a thought. Sometimes, letting go seems like a hot air balloon, deflated on the ground. But the moment we let go, hop in that basket and begin to allow ourselves to be guided by the strength of the air balloon, we have the opportunity to see and do great things-like get a great view!
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