My husband and I always try to take a fall trip and this year we went to Lake Chelan and Leavenworth, Washington. On our drive, the sun highlighted the various shades of golds and red foliage peaking between the tall evergreen trees as we drove along Hwy 14. It’s only during this time of year that we can see the magnificent presence of deciduous trees on the hills. They drew my eyes away from the articles I had planned to read along the way. So, I gazed at the surrounding landscape, wanting to give these markers of life transitions their proper recognition before they faded away.
“Autumn teaches us the beauty of letting go. Growth requires release- it’s what the trees do.” `ka’ala @alohakaala
Do you have difficulty letting go? I admit I do. As humans, when we love someone, we go about imagining our future with them. Remember, I am referring to what you are imagining and that might not be in sync with another person’s developing view of their future. Letting go always brings the fear of loss, especially when the loss represents what your heart craves (old wounds surfacing here).
I have an only child and my bond with him (my miracle baby) felt extraordinary…to me. He was a gift that had so much responsibility attached in raising a healthy and happy “only”. I fortified myself with parenting books piled high on my nightstand to guide my way as a mother. Yet, I worried and fretted over his well-being constantly. Though I wanted to protect him, I also wanted him to grow into a strong, competent man…and he has become all that. Unrealistically, I thought his mama would be as close to his heart as I held him. Those were my unrealistic and selfish expectations. He had to grow away from me to become his own person, to develop his relationship with his wife, to focus on the career he chose, and to learn to be the engaged father he is. Therefore, I acknowledge the universal principle that in order to grow, we must release something. For me, it has been expectations. Join me in becoming a happier, healthier person by letting go of expectations, especially those that ask another to validate us.
