Letting go of a loved one can free you to live a full and satisfying life, free of guilt, shame and what might have been. Conversely, the inability to let go can enslave our deepest emotions and as a result, you get stuck, lost in the grief transaction, wanting relief but entrenched in sadness and sorrow.
Sometimes, letting go is the only rational thing left to do. It hurts like nothing else and we may want to escape the pain by denying the reality, but it is a decision that all people make at some point in life. This decision presents itself to in many different circumstances, all of which attack our emotional well being.
Romantic love: Thousands of songs have been written about love gone wrong. These songs often profess undying love despite the abandonment of the lover. These are the most difficult goodbyes and its where people often get stuck. For some, its easier to live with this level of pain than to dig deeper and do the work necessary to resolve it.
Acceptance is the key to letting go. We must process the pain and face it head on. Journaling can be helpful in processing and expressing our deepest feelings and thoughts. If we can’t get over the loss within a reasonable amount of time, it is time to seek professional help. The loss may be more about you and your life preferences than about the relationship itself.
We have no choice in the death of a loved one except to accept the finality of it. Letting go means accepting the death but keeping your loving memories.
In our letting go, we grieve the loss. But, at some point we choose to let go of our sadness and find new direction. That doesn’t mean we forget those we love, but we are not held captive by our emotions because we choose to live in the truth.
