Letting go

So I've been reading this cool blog for the past month now called "71 toes" & the awesomely talented mommy that writes this blog has a cool idea that she's done for maybe the past 4 or 5 years now. I think she said she actually got the idea off her sister or a friend, but anyways regardless of whoever's idea it originally was, I instantly loved it & so I've decided to do it too....


O.K, so the idea is to come up with a word at the start of each year that is gonna be like your personal motto or theme for the year - something you really need to reflect on or kind of put into practice more in your life. 


The lady, Shawni, from "71 toes" has had really cool choices for her words for the past few years & so I was tempted to just choose one of hers (click here to see the posts on her word choices) as any one of them would've been a good word to focus on for a year.... 


However I decided against it as I thought that was a bit of a cop out and so decided it'd be best to ponder on my own life & where things are at right now & then to decide on a theme that'd best fit me :) 


And so after much pondering & contemplation I've come up with "LET GO" as my word for 2012. I realize it's actually two words, but it's only one action (so it still counts!) Let me try & explain to you a little bit of how my word picked me...


I had to pack & unpack our whole house twice last year (within 5 months of each other) & what it made me realize is that I hate moving!!!....but aside from that what it also gave me was the opportunity to "LET GO" of any "excess baggage" that we didn't really need (not only once, but twice!). 


While packing for the first move I thought I'd been pretty ruthless in chucking out stuff that we hadn't used in forever...but then with the 2nd move I came across stuff that I hadn't even unpacked from our first move & which had just been shoved into the cupboard... so what was the point in carting it back just to live out it's life in another cupboard again??? No point was the answer! It was just excess baggage weighing me down & taking up space.


Relating that to life....With so much going on in my life this year that is completely out of my control, it's something I find I'm needing to constantly remind myself of. LETTING GO doesn't come easy to me in many aspects of my life as if you know me well you'll also know that I like to have control over most things around me lol, but over the past few weeks as I've been pondering on this phrase & trying to put it into practice I've found it's made the world around me alot happier place!


Instead of wasting my time worrying today about things that may or may not happen tomorrow, I've been consciously trying to "LET GO" of my anxiety - what's the point of wasting precious energy focusing on something that may or may not come to pass right?...


Instead of stressing because Mac's come home from kindy & turned the house upside down again within 5 minutes of walking in the door when I've just spent all morning cleaning, I've been trying to "LET GO" of my frustration ....he's only a kid right & it's probably an unrealistic expectation of mine to think that he'll come home, sit nicely in one spot & just read a book or watch a cartoon & keep his hands to himself for the rest of the afternoon :) (although I admit there are many a time when I just wish he would!)....


Instead of being upset because I feel that alot of the things that I'm experiencing this year are unfair or unjust, I've been able to "LET GO" of those emotions knowing that feeling that way isn't going to change anything right now or be of any benefit to help me just get on with it... 


Instead of throwing my hands up in despair because I've just showered & changed Spence & got him all nice & squeaky clean & then he goes & fills his nappy & spews all over his fresh pair of jammies, I just need to "LET it GO" - he didn't wait till I'd finished all that & then do it on purpose....right??!!! (although sometimes the timing just seems like a little bit too much of a coincidence & I wonder if he did lol)


I could go on listing a whole lot more of the scenarios that cemented my decision that the best thing for me to learn to do this year is just to "LET GO" of the unimportant stuff or things that are out of my control, but I won't because the list is too long. 


I think it's what a lot of us could benefit from doing a bit more of in life though. While I was thinking about it I decided that a lot of the time too many of us hold onto things that are out of our control & allow our happiness to become dependent on the action or inaction (is that even a word? ...lack of action) of others... when ultimately the only person we can hold responsible for our happiness (or lack of it) is ourselves.


There are all sorts of obstacles that come across our paths in life & Satan has high hopes that many of them will trip us up, but as I was contemplating the different things I'm facing this year I realized that although circumstances may have changed a little from last year, the things that are the MOST important in my life, are still the same....& so all I need to do is to hold on tight to the things that matter most (things like my family, friends & the gospel) & to just "LET GO" of all the rest.   


o.k well this is getting to be a rather lengthy post so I'll finish it here, except to say that as I mentioned earlier, trying to live my word for the last couple of weeks & put it into practice has really made a difference. It's a really liberating feeling to take control of the things that are actually within your ability to control & then to "LET GO" of all the rest.


There's still a lot more I could do with "LETTING GO" of I'm sure, but for now I feel like I'm off to a good start!!