Let Go

What do we want to let go off? A person? A place? A habit? An unpleasant incident? A desire? A loss? A betrayal? An obsession?

And if we want to be free, why can't we let go? What is it that keeps us chained to our misery?

The answer is not pleasant but needs to be dealt with. It is a tendency of ordinary people to keep going round and round in an endless circle of meaningless thoughts and insignificant aims and activities which keeps them so utterly tied to their misery that it becomes their very identity. This is a horrific life condition, because you are your own jailor and tormentor and you are also the victim -  a toxic relationship that no one else can free you off, but yourself. 

That is why, the day you can admonish yourself for this unintelligent behavior and break free of this pattern, never to return again, you will have transcended from ordinary to extraordinary. Breaking out is just a thought - a firm resolve that emanates from the depths of your being. And it is called will power.

Examine all your problems deeply - they are mostly imaginary. The emotions that you attach with your so-called problems are also imaginary and self created. This is because changing scenarios are not problems, but life itself.

Everything comes with a shelf life and a price tag. Be ready to pay the price and to let go after the expiry date. Do not bemoan your fate, because you are not a victim and neither are your set of circumstances exclusive to you. The whole world faces change and pain, without exception. Change is both inevitable, healthy and necessary for our evolution. 

Life was not designed to be monotonous. A human being takes birth only to embark on an experiential journey - a remarkable light and sound show designed to help us understand ourselves - our strengths, limitations, emotional and psychological environment. If we try to block life, or even any tiniest aspect of it, we are blocking our own experiences and limiting our growth.

The good part of what sometimes seems like a never ending obstacle race, is that facing life joyfully and courageously, teaches us invaluable lessons. And a lesson learned completely is never repeated. We just move on to the next lesson and the next and so on. This is the process of evolution, of moving on to better versions of ourselves.

This experiential journey is understood through contrast. Day and night, summer and winter, good and bad, honest and dishonest. In effect, you cannot know the good without experiencing the bad. How can you know betrayal, loss of love, emotional blackmail, hypocrisy or anything else, unless you face it?

When you learn classical music, you are asked to practice and strengthen the lower notes first. The lower you go, the easier it is for you to touch the high notes. Life is like that too. Unless you experience the depths of agony, you are in no position to experience the highs of ecstasy, leave alone to appreciate it.

So our best bet is to treat every threat as an opportunity and to keep moving on. Do not resist. Resistance will break you. Do not look back, there is nothing there. Do not look into the future - it is a mystery that will unravel in its own sweet time. Life will not reveal itself to you all at once. So stay focussed in the present and learn, unlearn, relearn. Repeat.

The best learning comes from acceptance, surrender and being present in the moment. How many of us are actually present - in the moment? It is rare to find someone who is. Most people are either lost in the events of the past or in an imaginary future. Neither is real. But the present, which is the only reality, something that can be savored completely, is lost - foolishly sacrificed for an illusion.

Let me illustrate why sacrificing the present is utter foolishness.

People reunite after 20 years or more, but rather than enjoying each other’s company, they remain distracted in their own affairs - troublesome teenage children, mother-in-law, business, a bad boss and so on. The attention paid to each other is minimal. You spend money, take the trouble to go somewhere, but mentally and emotionally you never reach that place. You remain in your self created prison - whether that is your home or workplace.

It is the same with every situation: traveling to a new country, meeting a new person, you are never there, always in the past or the future. What a huge waste of time and resources.

You have to be smart to value the present, knowing it is all you have got. The present moment carries everything that you are destined for. Encash that cheque first, because we all know that illusions cannot be encashed.

Being completely and absolutely in the immediate present or ‘Nitya Vartaman’ is a great spiritual accomplishment. This is the domain of the great siddhas - self realised saints - who walk the earth as humans but with the power of the Gods.

This should not discourage you, rather it should be your sole aspiration: to move towards your highest self by accepting life’s blessings and challenges with equanimity, courage and gratitude.

“Chronological memories do not make us suffer. It is psychological memory that causes suffering as a result of an emotional scar becoming embedded deep into our subconscious mind”, says Sai Kaka, a great Siddha from Maharashtra.

But if you are firm in your understanding that no matter how traumatic your experience, it is in the past, gone, never to return, your emotional scar will not get embedded to degenerate into a psychological sore. You can simply shrug it off as a bad dream and continue as if nothing happened.

This is just the knowledge of the process to liberation and it may sound difficult if you make it a mental process. The simpler way to get out of our embedded loops of misery is to pray for mental power, which is a direct blessing from the Gods. 

Instead of seeking material pleasures, we should seek understanding and truth which can only come from focussing single mindedly on the great universal force. You cannot seek truth from the dishonest, nor understanding from the deluded. Choose your company wisely and allow it to lead you to those who vibrate on higher frequencies.

Let go. Save yourself. Escape. What lies ahead is an unmuddied ocean of pure bliss.

You may write to Shalini Singh at [email protected] | You can also follow her on Substack: https://shalinisinghscribe.substack.com/

At The Probe, our commitment to social impact journalism is at the core of everything we do. Funded by well-meaning individuals from the public, our aim is to drive positive social change and make a real-world impact through the stories we report. If you wish to support us, please visit our Truth Brigade page and contribute to a cause that resonates with you the most. It is through your support that we have been able to keep the flame of our journalism alive in these difficult times. Click link to support us to make a difference: https://theprobe.in/truth-brigade