My Symbol Of Letting Go

Letting go is a topic in everybody’s life at times. Yesterday I was talking to a friend and I realized that during the past weeks, more and more friends are posting about letting go or about their process of letting go. There are so many different reasons or stories behind it. May it be about love, about plans we made, about disappointments, or being hurt. But in the end, we can mostly sum it up to two points:

  1. A shattered dream.
  2. A traumatic or painful experience in the past.

It mostly has always to do with other people involved. That means there are at least two individual energies, ideas, imaginations, histories, goals, and intentions at work. The problem of letting go is always the “Why”. Why me? Why did he/she pick me for doing that? Why did I need to have this accident? Why did she/he turn away? Why do I have to get this disease? If we only had an explanation, it would help so much. When it is about a person we could get an answer but for whatever reason, some don’t do us the favor. However, we cannot do anything about it … let it go.

We are letting go of so many things without even noticing them. But the more something means to us the harder it gets. It can take weeks, months, years, or even a lifetime. But when the time has come, we feel it clearly. That is the time when we have to take this subject carefully, thank it for what it gave us, for the joy it brought for a while, for the lesson it taught us, or for making us develop something we would have never developed without it. Take it carefully and lay it at rest at a certain place in your thoughts or in real life. Imagine it as a flower that withers, sinks into the earth, and gives its energy back in order to open up the possibilities for the growth of a new plant. Or let it fly like a bird and free its energy and yourself. But whatever you do, do it with love. Only when you let go of all your resentments and frustrations you will find peace.

It often helps when we have something visible to let go like a symbol since we cannot see feelings. And it also helps to not do it alone. Therefore, I invite everyone who feels ready and who is tired of being stuck in a place they don’t want to be: Do a post with the title My Symbol Of Letting Go and choose a symbol like a picture, a quote, a song,… whatever. Nobody needs to know any details. Choose a friendly symbol and do this post with the intention to let go in peace!

I thank you from my heart for what you gave to me. I will cherish it forever. Fly free!

In Love and Light!


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The purpose of my blog is to inspire and shine a light on the beauty and power of the wonderful being inside your body. You came into this world to share what only you can give. Remember who you really are, conquer the world the way you always wanted to, and become the blessing to all of us that you were meant to be.

94 Comments

I re-read this post and it is so helpful. I need to let go of something and it is so hard. I want to rather cling and try and force sweet juice out of a lemon when the lemon is dried up anyway. I will have to think of a symbol to let go and do a post!

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I know what you mean. This closed door which we would like to open up again. But when we turn around we see the one that already opened up only waitingto be recognized. That symbol thingy really worked for me. Big hugs, dear Vonita! Please tell me if you post it. I don’t want to miss it.

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It’s too early then. It is so painful to want to open up that one door again or trying to keep it open. Whatever this is meant for. It is only a little or no comfort at the moment but after you are through this something wonderful will wait for you. Big hugs, Vonita 💖

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Wonderful post Erika! So true – “But the more something means to us the harder it gets.” The pastor’s wife was praying for me today and I she had a picture of me being tied to a chain and the chain was under a rock, so I couldn’t lift it and go free. I told her I think it was to do with people/ memories which I have clung to because they were crucial to my growth/ emotional survival at pivotal points in my life. She prayed that the tie would be cut- it is crucial to ” forget the former things ” if I am to embrace the new. I think I might blog about that idea as a start.

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That is a very good picture to get to the core the pastor’s wife gave you. It is interesting that you get to this post right now too. It seems that it is truly time for letting go. The only thing that keeps us chained to the past is our holding on to it in our thoughts. The past is over. It is not real anymore. It doesn’t exist but our thoughts keeps keep them alive. We ourselves tie us to it and we ourselves are ables to untie us…. when we feel ready. Sometimes we need to dwell in the past but one day (and that can come instantly) we are ready to stand up, kiss the past goodbye, and walk away.

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Yep- that time is now. Mid thirties and still living in my teens/ twenties in terms of the relationships I pine for and memories I keep trying to recreate. Not cool! It has taken me a long time to realise that I can’t recreate childhood memories in my family either, with such different personality types/ circumstances. Everything should be fresh and new.

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In the end we are always the same person, we only grow and expand and whatever happened in our life makes us expand and grow. Some things can be rooted so deep that we don’t even know it is there. We only notice the symptoms without knowing the cause. But you know what? The journey to get to the roots is the personal way of growth and development. I don’t think it will take you long and you will have your breakthrough. Lay into your pain, cry it all out and embrace it as part of your own unique journey. Don’t fight it, but accept that it happened and see where it has led you to! All happens for the reasong to make us better in the end. Once you can make peace with it, turn around and move on, you will see what has waited for you all the time. Much love to you, Merryn!

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This is a beautiful post and song, Erika! Thank you for sharing it with me today. The only thing I can think of that might help to let something go is a balloon? It sounds kind of silly but I don’t know it might work for me. 🙂

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No, not silly at all. Do it, take your time and imagine that you fill that balloon with everything you want let go and then let it fly in your own personal ceremony. It helps to make the thing visible, which we want to let go. A balloon is a symbol often used in meditations too for letting go. So do it your way 🙂

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Thank you, Van! This post was one of the greatest blessings for me here on WordPress. I barely experienced such an immense peace and happiness. A letting go in love is not a good-bye but a transformation into positive energy.

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Wow Erika. It is so strange; I had a very difficult thing happen last week that came to a head today. This post has helped me so so much. I love your idea. I need to let go of my anger over a certain issue, and transferring that anger into an object is such a great idea. As usual, you have really helped me 💓

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Janey, I had a feeling it could give you a hint or something might bring you to an idea. In the end it is always about letting go of the things that only weaken and burden us. We are struggling with it because this is not a part of ourselves. What is not part of ourselves is never meant to stick with us. In the end it is a decision to let go. We only need to be ready to do so.
I am so happy that it helped you. You made my day, Janey! 💖 💖 💖

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This was a different perspective. I have never been able to physically symbolize my feelings – I am someone who will connect it with nature. Snow at dawn, storms, winds… Your approach is unique.

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I will do a post with the symbol. As we have discussed, it is hard to let go, whether you want to or not. Depending on the circumstances, doing so without resentment will help in the healing and moving forward process. Great post, Erika! I will listen to the song later….

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Our discussions were very important. Also reading other’s posts, which made me thinking further in order to comment. It all led to this post, this point…. and I can happily say: I am through! Let me know if you like the song, Syl and thank your for your amazing support.

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This is beautiful! I loved the concept of having a symbol of letting go and how you emphasised that you have to release your resentment about letting go inorder to have some peace. 🙂 Now, ssh..Let me go find my symbol! 😉

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It is wonderful how summed it up again. I think when we basically are ready there is only this last little string which has to be cut or the last anchor that has to be loosend. When we can look at it, name it, then it is so much easier. I hope you find a symbol and send it away. Right, when we send it away peacefully then we are in peace with it.

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Your comments are just so lovely! 🙂 I love the picture you effortlessly paint in my head which right now is that of a beautiful balloon whose strings are biting through my palm for holding it too tight as it struggles against the wind.

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That is an amazing picture. Keep that. Now you can even imagine it is a pink balloon and you have all you want to let go in this balloon. When you are ready, cut the cord and let it fly, watch how it disappears and feel what happens withing you. That is THE picture!!!

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I tried to restrain myself from coming back for another comment on this post, but it is stuck in my mind and my thoughts are going in every direction. Sorry!

Erika, you just inspired me to post a little poem on my own blog that my mother shared with me many years ago. I have no idea who wrote it, and I have failed to find it anywhere else except on the piece of paper that she gave to me, with the poem written in her own hand, and my own electronic copy. I have since shared it with many friends who have been recently bereaved, and they all tell me that it helps. It certainly helped me when Mum died.

The poem is called, Death is not The End, and it may help anyone along the way to letting go if they have been recently bereaved.

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Thank you, Jade. I have to say that I was in complete peace writing it. It was the last little string I loosened and it is wonderful. I am happy about what was. Nobody can ever take this away. Also everything is solved in the situation. It is wonderful. Open for new things to come 😀

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I don’t want to hog the comments on this, so I apologise to everyone and will try to restrain myself and make this my last, although the post has really hit the bulls eye with me.

This is a point I make to people about the importance of letting go. It was explained to me in a totally different way, but I like to explain it in my own terms.

Pick up a book. You must have one close at hand, so you could do this right now.

How heavy is the book? Not too heavy, really.

Stand up and hold it out in front of you at arm’s length. One hand or two? It doesn’t matter.

This is easy, isn’t it?

Hold it there for a whole minute. Still easy?

Hold it there for five minutes. It’s feeling a bit heavier now isn’t it. You may even be getting some aches in your hands, wrists and arms.

Hold it for fifteen minutes. You may have already given up, but you are getting the idea. The book feels a lot heavier. The pain is spreading to your shoulders and even to your back.

If you go ahead and hold it for half a day, the book will weigh more than anything you ever carried before and you will be paralyzed. Your mind will have only one item in it…. that damned book!

So, you must all be with me by now, bearing in mind the subject of Erika’s wonderful blog post. The earlier that you let go, the less weight you have to carry and the less pain you have to bear.

Let go and move on!

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That is a wonderful way to “feel” the weight and the possibility to let it go! Very well explained. Thank you so much, Lance, for taking the time and commenting this all. That was wonderful!

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Your post really hit a harmonious chord with me Erika. It is exactly right for the moment, and you know why. The song is beautiful too. And then the comment about having no regrets just reinforces the message. That is so true too. We should not regret something that is already in the past. Maybe we can learn from it, but we cannot change it, so why would we let it get us down?

My symbol of letting go is a poem that I wrote when my Mum died in 1999. Well, I probably flatter myself when I call it a poem, but it means a great deal to me. It is called “Gone.” Anyone can read it by following this link, if they are at all interested.

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I guess I even did read it once. Thank you for providing the link. The first song I ever produced is called “I would do it again” It is about not regretting anything but being thankful for what it made us. Only because things change doesn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful what we had before. I am glad it spoke to you, Lance.

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It’s one of my favorites of your songs, Erika. I think that music is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Letting go is always hard, no matter which side that you occupy. There are seminal points in life that create these trajectories that we will follow for some time. Moments that flare up and burn so brightly, no matter the outcome, create these new paths. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, the reader on my droid doesn’t show your audio. Then again, it never shows the ones that I post, either. I think that people have to visit the ‘real’ page in order to find it.

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Thank you, Rob! You know that your opinion always means a lot to me. I agree with every point and I regret nothing. Whatever happens leads us to the next point. You said that wonderfully. I hope you are soon nominated for the next poem challenge 😉
I am happy you like the song. Again your opinion is important to me.
I heard about the problem with the reader. I mentioned that and hope people go to my blog to read the post for that reason. It is an important song to me and it carries a part of my history I never want to miss. Thank you for reading 😊

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Giving a “ying/yang” perspective to letting go can also be very beneficial. For whatever has been lost, look for what has been gained. A love lost can open new doors due to the freedom gained. A job/career lost can offer new horizons to consider. Major limbs lost can offer whole new challenges in lifestyle, and wonderful opportunities to teach less fortunates on how to cope. There is always an opportunity to grow from “letting go”, but sometimes it takes work to see it …. but it is there!

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That is exactly how it is. Every end is a new beginning. But we have to let go before we can make this new beginning work. And that is the crucial point. How to let go!

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Agreed, but it is easier to let go if you have already identified the potential future. To use a ship analogy, you probably would not want to cast off (let go) unless you had some concept of a destination.

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Beautiful. I like your idea about having a symbol. I am a visual person and I like how a symbol can reinforce what out minds/souls are trying to do.

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I like this idea Erika symbolising our problems into objects or thoughts then making a concious effort to to physically or mentally discard them. I can see the benifit in it.☺☺

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