Daily Cascade

About 'Letting Go'

Prompt:
"The key in letting go is practice. Each time we let go, we disentangle ourselves from our expectations and begin to experience things as they are."
Sharon Salzberg
What do you think about "letting go"? Is it always a good practice?

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In all my years here on this earth, I learned one thing: In the long run, nothing is unconditional. In my mind this also applies to letting go, as letting go is a discipline I think I have taught to my "self."

As such, I've let go of many things, like wrong opinions about me, false friendships, unkind words and gestures, etc. Was my letting go unconditional? I don't think so. I let go of all those, frankly speaking, out of self-defense. This is because letting go of anything and their outcomes, which I could not control anyway, could make me anxious and could make me suffer with resentment or illusions. In addition, letting go cures me of any expectations from others and be more self-reliant.

Yet, there may be moments when not letting go is just as important. This is when letting go of accountability, self-respect, or one's principles in the name of “acceptance” can only be avoidance. It erases mine or another person's selfhood, so to speak. Since letting go of the most important things would show me as being detached and uncaring, wouldn't it! I mean, not that this ever happened, but I could not sit in my porch and enjoy my cup of tea, while I hear a neighbor beating up on his wife or his mother, could I?

Letting go, therefore, should not make me passive, but it should ease my relationships while holding my ground and hanging on to my principles.

The way I see it, therefore, letting go is not a blanket rule. There is a point where we have to hold our ground and not let others distort our deeply held beliefs and ways of being.