Almost every single one of us carries something with us from our past, something heavy that in many ways holds us down or back from moving forward. We still move forward, however some days the steps seem harder than others. I imagine wearing a coat with many pockets, each pocket is filled with mud, and we keep trying to walk each step carrying that weight and splashing mud everywhere we go. We know the mud is there, we know that it is weighing us down, and I truly believe that we also know, if we dump out the mud or just take the coat off, our weight and our steps will be lighter. It's just not always as easy as that though is it?
In one of the classes I teach, we talk a lot about letting go of that which no longer serves us purpose… which is easier said than done, I know. My intention with each class, is to help others let go of some of that weight, some of the past that they (we) have been holding onto, and some of the anger, and especially some of the regret… so that we do not carry it with us moving forward. Imagine if we could really do this, and we are able to spend the rest of our lives not looking back, feeling lighter and feeling less regret. We cannot be certain how much time we have left, but I for one do not want it spent carrying that weight around.
In my class someone once shared the idea of “letting go of the rope,” which I felt was a perfect analogy and I have been thinking about this a lot. The rope is what connects us to the weight of our past; weight of pain, ache and that with which we do not have control over and cannot fix or change. We cling to that rope so tightly that it cuts through our skin, and we bleed… over, and over again.
I cannot speak for each of you, but from my own personal experience, I found that it was easier to hold on to the past, easier to live with it than letting it go. It took work, a lot of very hard work.
I did a podcast interview and they asked me the most powerful question, “what are you running away from, and what are you running towards.” WOW! Think about that for a minute. My answer is this, I am running away from my past, I am running away from the people and things that tried to stop me, that beat me down, that I gave the power to change the way I saw myself, doubting my own self-worth. I am running away, albeit gracefully, from that which no longer serves me and I am running towards life. A life that is positive, toward people and things that inspire, motivate and encourage me, and to making a difference and leaving a legacy behind that I will be proud of. My goal with the work I do, with my books and blogs and with the classes I teach, is to help improve the way we care for people who are dying, this will be my legacy, this is what I am running toward. I needed to let go in order to move forward, in order to see the light and set reachable, obtainable, incredible goals. My goal, is to inspire others to do this work, and do it well.
I have been clinging to the rope most of my life, and finally, over the past few years I have worked hard to finally let go and it feels really good, but of course I am always a constant work in progress. Right now, what I see… is not my hands gripped tightly around the rope, but instead the frayed edges of the rope I let go of, which finally broke and separated me from the weight.
We are all going to die, we cannot change that, but what we can change is how we move through our life, how we work through our struggles, our pain and the obstacles that continue to find their way in our path. I want to live a life without regret, or at least less regret. I want to rid myself of things that are in the past, that I cannot change, that do not serve me purpose. I have emptied almost all of the mud out of my pockets… and I have let go of the rope. And I do not plan on bringing that coat to my death bed.
Let go of the rope...
xo
Gabby
Please check my website for my Ritual & Ceremony Class that focuses on forgiveness of self and others. This is a great class to help you start emptying those pockets and let go of the rope.
