Letting go, holding on
One of my girlfriends posted a question on her Facebook page asking about favorite quotes. Call it the bloggy-writer-poet-romantic-dreamer in me, but I do love me some killer dialogue - especially ones that leave an indelible mark.I don't remember when I first came across the one I shared - one of my all time faves - but there was no question this quote was my choice:
"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." - Henry Ellis
If you follow my Twitter feed, you've heard my running joke - the devil and angel on my shoulders always have three-ways with my voice of reason. What usually breaks up these tumultuous trysts are moments when I come up for air, realizing I'm once again, making the same choices that cause me to take two steps behind when I should be trying to evolve in a forward, positive motion. Breaking rules instead of blazing my trail and writing my own. So I dust off my ass, kick experience and memory to the curb and press ahead.
The good thing about tomorrow - it's always a clean slate.
I don't care if the blood pumping through your veins is the oil straight from a Normal Rockwell painting - living inside every one of us is our very own saboteur - and they're always down to party.Careers, relationships, even emotional baggage that weighs us down; we know we should be letting go, but our fear of the unknown serve as cinderblocks, pulling us deeper into a sea of regret and longing.So what do we let go of, hang on to, and how the hell do we know when to turn the page? It's easy to look at anyone else's world and offer up the typical advice. Let go of the bad, hang on to the good; but reality isn't a twenty-two minute sit-com where resolutions are made and all is tied up in a bow as the credits roll.Sometimes shit is so simple, we try to find ways to fuck them up.We stay in relationships we know are toxic. We talk ourselves out of a career move because we listen to our fear. We hold back - hanging on - even with bloody fingers, because the only thing scarier than staying with the darkness, is free-falling into the unknown.If only we had a guarantee that what we're falling into is better than where we are now; but when has life ever been easy?What I've come to realize lately is that even if what lies ahead isn't what I hoped for and takes me farther away from my dreams - it's always better than holding on to something that keeps me from going after them.Moving forward into the unknown will always trump staying where you aren't happy. Yes, there are no guarantees that what lies ahead will serve our soul - but the fact we have the courage to keep trying is a helluva great start.