Art of letting go
By Rahila Khan
“While moving forward, look at the dawn with a happy-go-lucky face,
When it’s time for you to move,
Move ahead with hopefulness.
When you were asked to open the doors & let go,
Keep yourself ready & your shoe laces tied
& Walk straight at a good pace.”
In every part of life, we continue to move forward & take things to the next level only if we let go. As a result, we must accept the results. Letting go isn’t easy, but holding on to it can damage even more. The art of letting go will bring peace & tranquility to our lives.
Getting rid of a thing leads you to change. The fear of putting yourself in discomfort & an uneasier situation makes it difficult to let go. Moving on from an important aspect considered central to your past makes it look scary.
In most cases, letting go of people is more complex than letting go of worldly possessions. People to whom we are attached enhances both our mental and physical health. It’s tough to let people go away from your life as you have shared a lot of memories with them, hoped for the best in the future, and some shared their darkest secrets too. Everything changes at a certain point. Leaving people hard to go makes you stronger, and you grow up stronger when they leave.
“We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world,”- Helen Keller.
What is happiness?
Happiness is challenging. Most of the time, happiness comes from learning that my happiness is the most important thing to me and removing the sense of something missing in life. Happiness is a choice & skill. No external forces affect your emotions; it’s just the world reflects your feelings back at you. Don’t care about unnecessary things. You can’t please everyone. Value your time on earth, meditate and hang around happy people and it works. Happiness is being satisfied with what you have.
Life is suffering
“At some point, we all look up and realize we are lost in a maze.”― John Green.
Suffering is somehow part of life — no matter who or what, all living things are bound by this accidental quality of suffering. Most of the time, suffering arises from desire & a problem that neither desire is complete nor overcome & causes pain. To overcome, a person must let go of the desires or dreams that cause suffering. As Buddha said, The intention of renunciation counters the sense of passion, the purpose of goodwill counters the intention of ill will, and the intention of harmlessness counters the intention of harmfulness. To overcome suffering, one must also ignore livelihoods that harm others. A mantra that helps in overcoming is an action with understanding & concentration, which implies an ability to focus on self-awareness. Given following steps should help overcome suffering:
Intention and action- Good intention counter the choice of resentment and harmfulness. It’s a link between you and your activity for the world’s betterment. Because when the intentions are right, the actions will be right.
Speech- Preventing yourself from abusive, false, and idle speech are the three major components of good verbal communication. Speech is the factor that can make you suffer more or can create peace and heal you.
Livelihood- Breaching of right speech & actions can lead you to the wrong livelihood. Right livelihood refers to what kind of work you do and your attitude towards work. Implement a way of living that doesn’t harm others.
Concentration, effort, and mindfulness- Concentration comprises effort and mindfulness. Effort provides the energy claimed by the task, and mindfulness is the presence of awareness. Becoming aware of the present helps you concentrate on what is happening around you.
Key to leading a great life
Grateful people live great lives.
You can build an extraordinary life by reflecting on the things you feel terrific about in the past. If you’re stuck in the past, you won’t be able to enjoy your life. Free yourself from the hardships of the past by letting go.
You can recognise that things will improve during hard times and that you will come out on the other side and stay thankful each day for what they have. Avoid pain and unnecessary desires and be grateful.
“A good life depends on the strength of our relationships with family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and strangers.”
Book reference:
- 12 Quotidian Affairs — Time to get your shit together https://amzn.eu/d/hxRwGZv
Articles referenced for this:
- Snippets from our discussion “Art of letting go” held by Author Manank Panchmatia.
- https://medium.com/@Emily_shaft/12-quotidian-affairs-by-author-manank-panchmatia-the-next-big-thing-in-the-market-f903994f819f
- https://www.quora.com/What-can-we-expect-from-the-book-12-Quotidian-Affairs-by-Manank-Panchmatia/answer/Blue-Hill-Publications-2?prompt_topic_bio=1
- https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html
