Letting Go and Moving On
Many of us spend our lives assuming we follow the perennial fairy tale of ‘once upon a time’ ending up in ‘happily ever after’. Truth is that life is hardly one incident and happily ever after. If at all, we can all vouch for phases, seasons and periods of pain, growth, joy, learning and this kind of repeats in its own time. And so with this, there are times to let go certain things, people and situations. Knowing when to do so is wisdom gained over the years.
If we take our childhood friends, some of us grow into old age with them and some just get dropped along the way because they no longer serve their purpose in our lives. And as painful as it is, it is the same with a lot of relationships. Even romantic ones – your childhood and youth love may not necessarily end up your life’s soul mate. And knowing this is important because it’s easy to get caught up in nostalgia and what ifs. Truth is that life keeps moving and we as individuals must keep growing and changing and as we do so, the people in our lives who don’t fulfill what we require, need to be left behind. This does not mean that we change our value systems and beliefs. It’s just that our priorities change and as we grow, we hone in on what is truly important to us. Knowing when to do this with who and what, is maturity.
Many of us hold onto situations like jobs because we feel some sense of loyalty and need for stability by sticking to the comfort of the familiar. Yet as we grow, we realize that these places are stifling and that if we are to truly grow, we got to move on. It’s the same with groups we may have founded – musical, song, drama, art, sports and even certain societies. You need to know when your time with them is done. There is no rule saying you need to stick to the place you founded. In actuality, your success would be your ability to pass it on to the next generation to carry through. That would be a real achievement. Yet many of us cling on in fear that we may lose the sense of identity that place gives us. Your identity is your own. Not in what you founded. Knowing this takes acceptance and courage.
Know the phases in your life and when you need to move on. Transition is never easy and is quite messy at times but the results are worth it in the end. After all, what is life but a series of events that shape and mould us into who we are? We cannot expect to stay in the same place, doing the same thing everyday and see change. The only constant in life is change. And knowing this and when to let go the old and bring in the new is something of a lesson we will keep learning each day.
As the caterpillar grows and metamorphoses into a butterfly, so must we grow, change and become what we truly are meant to be.
