The Practice of "Letting Go"
Letting Go...
As mentors, you attend BYEP each week with the headspace of showing up and being present for your groups. You put on pause whatever is going on in your personal lives and come to workshops & adventures ready to absorb, process and listen to the hardships, successes, and experiences that are currently existing in the participant's lives.
The immense effort and authenticity you each bring to your groups does not go unacknowledged. It is inevitable that most of you may have experienced leaving a workshop or adventure with a heavier heart than when you entered. Holding on to the things you hear and experience in workshop can seep into your lives outside of BYEP. Understanding the importance of practicing self-care is essential to your role alongside the practice of “letting go”.
Letting Go is Hard...
Everything is energy. Our thoughts and feelings emit a vibration, and what we send out to the world is what we receive back. This isn't some woo-woo thing- it’s quantum physics. Whatever we give our attention to, wanted or unwanted, grows. If you focus on happiness, joy & satisfaction, you’ll experience more of that. If you focus on pain, regret & guilt, you’ll experience more of that.
Unless you’re able to truly let it go—meaning that you withdraw your attention completely from it—you’re more likely to focus on the unwanted and thus draw more of that into your life.
So how do we actually Let Go?
Step 1: Say “YES” to what is
You cannot reject or push against the unwanted. You cannot focus on a problem and find the solution. Because the solution is never where the problem is. So, I encourage you to try and shift your focus.
You shift focus by first accepting what is. If you want to let go of anxiety and stress, start by first accepting that you’re feeling stressed & anxious. Don’t argue with your thoughts and feelings. Don’t resist them. Don’t try to push them away. Instead, give them permission to exist.
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it ”
Step 2: LET IN: Invite the New
Letting go can easily trigger fear. When you leave something behind and don’t know what to replace it with, you leave space for the unknown. Change is always scary, especially when you don’t know what’s coming next. That’s why you might find yourself clinging to the unwanted because that’s what’s familiar and known to you.
To make sure that doesn’t happen, consciously decide what’s coming next. Let in instead of letting go. Rather than pushing away the unwanted, invite the wanted.
The practice of “letting go” is never-ending and challenging. The more we are able to model the acceptance and processing of our own emotions & feelings to our participants, the more we can empower them to accept & let go of their emotions, anxieties, and fears.
“ Where focus grows, energy flows ”
Highlights from last week…
Mentor Appreciation Dinner: Sunday, October 20th from 5:30-7:30pm @ Montana Ale Works
John Sommers-Flanagan Training: Thursday, November 14th from 12:30-2:30pm