Letting Go

"I came here to let you know
the letting go
has taken place."
Melissa Etheridge ~The Letting Go~

We all have things in our lives to let go of.  Relationships, pets, property, expectations, and                people are all things we will have to let go of at various times in our lives.  

Most of us have heard the song "Let It Go" from "Frozen" sung to death over the years (especially those of us with children in our lives).  Idina Menzel sang the song in the Disney cartoon.  She also sang it for a New Years Eve celebration in 2015.  Many have criticized her imperfect live rendition.  


"You can't get it all right all the time, but you can do your best." She said in an interview regarding the performance and her own perfectionism. She went on to say,  "If you've done that, all that's left is to accept your shortcomings and have the courage to try to overcome them."  This quote, along with her explanation of her self-criticism and the pressure she put on herself to be as close to perfect as possible, forever changed the way I viewed the song, "Let It Go."  

There have been many things in my life that I have either felt were unfair, unrealistic, or just not good enough.  I, like Idina Menzel, am a perfectionist of sorts. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do things just so.  What previously had been an in your face anthem of "look here, I'm doing it anyway." is    now something much more profound to me.  My new understanding of "Let It Go" allowed my to give myself permission to let it go.  

Mindfulness has taught me how to use my wise mind to re-examine situations and expectations I place on myself or others.  Radical acceptance has allowed me to stop resisting the fact that some people are gone from my life forever.  "Let It Go"/"The Letting Go." have both allowed me to find peace in the face of grief and perfectionism.    

As I continue to work on my interpersonal skills and allow myself to be more open to experiencing life as it is, not as I wish it to be, I find letting go to be one of the most beneficial skills I've acquired.  Letting go of  old habits.  Letting go of past hurts.  Letting go of the need to be right.

Letting go has changed my life.  It has allowed me more peace and less anger and anxiety.  It has allowed me greater creativity and better resolution to conflicts. I still have a long way to go before I have mastered this skill.  My rigid, perfectionist nature often rears it's head. But I am doing my best, accepting my shortcomings, and working towards overcoming them.

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