Letting Go

This must be the "year of the life lesson" for me. I'm not trying to be overly philosophical here, it just seems that lately my thought process has been changing. I've been changing.

I was looking at these two photos of my girl at the playground, and noticing that, ironically, they are both about letting go.

In the first photo, her face is set in concentration. She knows she has to let go to grab the next bar, but she needs to control her timing and momentum, or she'll lose her grip and fall. She has a goal to get to the other side, step by step (or bar by bar), she'll get there, reluctantly letting go each time. Thought. Control. Fear of falling. Failing. Getting nowhere. Starting over..but taking the risk.

In the next photo, she's jumping off of the plastic mountain. Why? It's fun. It's liberating. There is no thought...no fear. She is just letting go. Losing control and falling are the goals here.

I wasn't always motivated by fear. I guess that's something life taught me, too. Somewhere in my past, I stopped taking risks and started hanging on too tightly, but I'm learning to let go again, and it feels good. Some days, lately, it feels just like jumping off a mountain. Peace!

Quote of the day - All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. - Havelock Ellis