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One of the things I became convinced of recently was that I needed to start to let go… and various things conspired to teach me this.
One of my all time heroes and favourite teachers and authors is Neale Donald Walsch. Neale has an incredible connection to God, and his daily inspirational newsletter ‘On this day’ is usually spot on for the challenges I am facing, or imparting some learning that I need.
The other day, Neale wrote:
On this day of your life, Tim, I believe God wants you to know…
….that yearning for a new way will not produce it. Only ending the old way can do that.
You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new. The old will defy the new; the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new.
There is only one way to bring in the new. You must make room for it.
And for me, that was huge.
You see, there are two principles going on here – the first is simply that we need to create a vacuum in our lives in order for things to happen. We need to let go of what we have in order to take hold of new stuff. We need to let go of the riverbank in order to set off on our journey down the river. We need to clear out stuff that’s no longer serving us in order to move into the new.
And secondly, we need to create movement. Without movement we become stuck, unable to create, unable to change things. Without some movement in our lives… well, nothing happens.
For me, right now, it’s quite draughty. The wind of change is blowing round me, and sometimes it’s quite unnerving – like walking along a cliff top edge when the wind is gusting, and you feel that at any moment you could be blown off that cliff, and crash to the jagged rocks below.
There are things changing for me in financial terms, as I consider how to deal with various financial challenges that I face, and do that with integrity and yet with a desire to move on. There are things changing for me in relationships – new possibilities, new friends, new romance, maybe. I’m moving home, from my nice comfortable 3 bedroom house into a flat (or a Winnebago… the whole idea of being in constant movement appeals to me). My eldest son is moving out – and my youngest is going to be going back to university. My moving home brings new friends and leaves other precious friends behind. I may let go of my business, of my plans, of my career. I may let go of my business, and the investment that lies in that. I may let go of my calling, my purpose – to discover something new. And there are some things that I am deliberately changing – the music I am listening to, the clothes that I am wearing, the books I am reading. I am changing my behaviours, my beliefs, my attitudes (more on that soon!).
And I am letting go of the need to behave a certain way, the need to BE certain things: The need for faith in God. The need to be a good dancer. The need to be in a relationship. The need to be a good father, a provider. The need to grow, the need to own a business. The need to lead and to teach. The need to have money. The need to be free.
I’m starting to hold these things loosely, recognising that they don’t really matter….
It’s a little bit scary… and yet exhilarating. It creates freedom, it creates movement, it creates the opportunity for new life. Anything could happen – and probably will! And THAT will be very, very cool.
