The Things We Carry, and What We Can Let Go Of

Maybe it’s time to let go.

Things build up. They get heavy. When we forget to let go, we feel heavy.

Even though you're not carrying your stuff around in a backpack, purse, or suitcase, you still carry it. You carry the weight of your stuff in your bones, your mind and your heart. Stuff like:

• clutter in your home

• clutter in your body

• clutter in your heart

• clutter in your soul

• clutter in your mind

• clutter in your relationships

• clutter in your life

The heaviness can look like exhaustion, frustration, sadness, disappointment, anxiousness, illness, regret, and guilt; and when you keep holding onto everything, it’s hard to figure out what exactly is weighing you down.

1. When you let go of physical objects, your home feels light.

Start with the easy stuff like duplicates, things you don’t use or enjoy, stuff you haven't touched in a while, and the stuff that has no purpose in your life or your home. Box it up, set it aside, and notice the light shine through in your home.

2. When you let go of what you don’t like about yourself, your body feels light. Maybe you don’t like your weight, your wrinkles or something else about your body. Our negative self talk around appearance is heavy.

Look in the mirror and smile. Throw your scale away. Really see yourself and the body that has been through so much with you. Notice something you love about yourself and refuse to compare or measure it. Read about women who have learned to love their bodies for inspiration and figure out what works best for you. Let it go and feel the light in your body.

3. When you let go of anger or resentment from the past, your heart feels light. Letting go doesn’t require fixing things, or setting the record straight. You can just decide that you are going to stop punishing yourself for the things you cannot control. Forgive yourself. Forgive others even if they don’t think they need forgiveness. Say goodbye to the hurt you cannot resolve and recognize the light in your heart.

4. When you let go of fear of the future, your soul feels light. The path ahead is uncertain and that’s never going to change. Release your fear of how things will unfold by becoming rooted in the present. Show up for your life today and you will be better equipped to handle your tomorrows with grace and ease.

Take a deep breath, let the fear about what might happen go, and notice the light rising in your soul.

5. When you let go of items on your to-do list, your mind feels light. You might think you can do it all, but you can’t do it all today. Let go of the long lists and focus on a short one with a handful of items that you can accomplish in one day. Be intentional about what you can accomplish. You have to choose between crossing things off your list, or living with clarity about what’s most important to you. Once you’ve let go of all the things that need to be done, notice the light in your mind.

6. When you let go of perfection, everything feels light. At the opposite of perfection is freedom, so when you let it go, your work, health, and connections rise from that freedom and lightness. Let there be typos and failures in your work. Let there be disagreements with people you love. Let there be lazy afternoons of movie marathons and doing nothing. Give yourself a break and allow yourself to be a work in progress and feel the light in everything.

7. When you let go of the need to be right, your relationships feel light. When did being right and fixing people replace true love in your relationship? Let go of being right and focus on what makes you whole. Give your friend/lover/partner a big hug, remember what you love about the two of you together and notice the light in your relationship grow.

When letting it go, start with one thing. Remember how long you’ve been holding on and give yourself some grace in the time it will take to let it go. You didn’t hold on with the intention of suffering but you can let go with the intention of having joy, being free and having light.

When you are overwhelmed, tired, and stressed out, the solution is almost always … less. Get rid of something. Lots of somethings. Let it go.

If you want to feel true light, you have to let go.