Let Go and Learn

So, hopefully, your container is created, and you’re ready to get started with the work of spontaneity week. A quiet space, time, and purpose can make all the difference. This week we are working on Expectations and Curiosity. It’s better known as ‘Let Go and Learn.’

Life changes when we let go of our expectations and allow the present moment to unfold as it will. We hear the music around us more clearly, whether it’s the breath of someone we love, the sound of the cars in the distance, or the song of the birds in the trees. We can breathe a little deeper and feel a little more. It’s crazy what will happen when we simply let go.

I know there’s a part of you that’s positive that the world will come crashing to an end if you stop, but girlfriend, that’s not true at all. You are a gift. A precious child that deserves time and to be cared for. For this moment, perfect and whole, you can stop and just be, free of expectations.

What happens when you do that? Do you feel a little more loved, calm or peaceful? What happens when you use the same belief that your husband or partner is, right now, perfect and whole, cherished and loved by our Creator? Or that dog that just pooped and you stepped in it, or the boss that wasn’t so very nice today? Can you see things differently? What happens when you release any expectation of what comes next?

You s-l-o-w w-a-y d-o-w-n…..You feel your shoulders distance themselves from your ears, and you find the soles of your feet. Yes, they’ve been there all along; you were just so filled with expectations that you forgot about the present and the gift it is to you right here, right now.

When we release expectations, it opens us to accept where we are at present. It opens us to the belief that everything is being orchestrated for our good and that the world is a beautiful place full of possibilities that will bring us joy.

What about when it’s not so easy to let go, and we are filled with struggle? Practice letting go there too, and over time you may find comfort in the uncertainty you previously called struggle. When you can lean into the uncertainty and be with it, simply allowing it to teach you the next lesson in your life, struggle disappears.

At that point, you will have let go and begun to learn everything that uncertainty has to teach. Embracing uncertainty like a long-lost friend and leaning into discomfort makes all the difference in our life lessons.

We can fight and struggle. I’m great at it. But, if we just show up and accept what’s there for us – uncertainty, discomfort, ease, pleasure, or pain, we can learn amazing things. It takes courage, some healthy internal dialogue (self-talk), and self-coaching, but it is so worth it and rewarding!

Begin to see struggle as an opportunity to practice.

Struggle can become a welcome opportunity. Invite it in for a visit. Resistance fades away, and we find faith in our fear and determination in our doubts.

There are common obstacles to practicing the “Let Go and Learn’ pattern. First of all, as human beings, we resist or withdraw when we’re uncomfortable. We want it to stop. We may cope with that discomfort by becoming overly busy, overly emotional, or just plain discouraged and ready to quit. That’s all okay. Permission to be human. But, my friend, if you extend yourself some self-compassion (and practice again) and let go repeatedly, openness will become a fantastic teacher. Some call it simply being willing.

I am willing to grieve until joy returns.
I am willing to hurt until it heals.
I am willing to feel impatient until I’m patient again.
I am willing to be hot until I’m not.
I am willing to be late until I get there.
Be willing.

Lean in. Let Go. Learn.
Your Creator is there, just waiting to teach you. When you release the expectation and the resistance, the world opens up, and it’s amazing!