Letting Go of Holding On

Let it go, let it go, let it go…

I was in a yoga class a few weeks ago and at the very end of the class, the instructor said, “I want to share with you a very special meditation…it’s one of my favourites.”

She had us lie down on our backs and close our eyes.

“Picture yourself on a beach,” she says. “It is a lovely day and you are enjoying the sunshine and the ocean. You can hear the waves lapping at the shore. Then you hear someone softly calling your name. So you turn and look…and see that one of your favourite peeps (alive or passed on) – is beckoning you over to where they are standing beside a hot air balloon that is tethered to the ground.

So you go over. And the person invites you to climb into the hot air balloon. So you do. Why not? It’s a beautiful day and you trust this person. And it would be cool to see the ocean from a different perspective…from higher up.

So you climb into the hot air balloon and your person climbs in after you. They undo the ties that are holding the hot air balloon to the ground.

But the balloon doesn’t move.

The person looks at you and says, “Sorry…I forgot there are a bunch of sandbags in here, holding us down. Do you mind picking some up and throwing them over the edge? We can come back and get them again later, if you like.”

Sandbags?!

So you look down and sure enough, there are quite a few sandbags at your feet…and rather heavy-looking ones at that. Funny you didn’t notice them before.

You reach down to pick one up and it IS heavy! You have to use both hands (and bend your knees…safety first!) to pick it up and heave it over the edge.

Sure enough, the balloon moves a little.

So you reach down again and haul up another sand bag and heave that over the edge. The balloon moves a little more.

A few more sandbags go over the edge and before you know it, that hot air balloon is lifting right up off the sand…and then away you go, soaring over the sea.

You were right, you do get a different perspective. A lightness in spirit makes all the difference.

Is there a limiting belief, or a story about yourself, or an excuse, or other people’s expectations, or too much clutter in your home, or the weight of guilt, or a feeling of anger towards someone…that you could let go of? That you are ready to let go of?

Or perhaps the heaviest thing you are holding on to is the belief that “this isn’t the way it was supposed to be.” Whatever “it” means to you.

The sooner we can let go of that which is no longer serving us – AND is likely holding us back – the sooner we can get a beautiful new perspective on what is…and we want the next chapter of our life to hold.

Oh, and don’t worry about throwing a beloved sandbag (such as your favourite excuse) over the side, thinking you might need it later. You won’t 🙂

Better to give it the heave-ho now and see how high you can fly without it.

Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Co-Founder of  the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here. And be sure to visit our PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop.