Saturday, January 24, 2009

Letting Go

The woman who first took me to Al-Anon over 20 years ago gave me this quote. It was a whole new thought that letting go was not a cop out. A few months later I surrendered to a Higher Power, which is the only way I could ever hope to let go of anything....with God's help. On my own I'd die trying to hang on tight.
Letting Go

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring
it means, I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off
it's the realization, I can't control another.

To "let go" is not to enable
but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness
which means means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another
it's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to "care for"
but to "care about."

To "let go" is not to 'fix'
but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge
but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes
but to allow others to affect their destinies.

To "let go" is not to be protective
it's to permit another to face reality.

To "let go" is not to deny
but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nage, scold or argue
but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires
but to take each day as it comes, and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to criticize and regulate anybody.
but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To "let go" is not to regret the past
but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less
and to love more."


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

My goodness, Hope. If those words were ever necessary for me to hear, they are most necessary at this very moment. Thank for listening to the inspiration that drove you to put them down today. Holy cow. Most serendipitous.

Mich

truevyne said...

I don't even know the name of it, but I love the David Wilcox song on the Vista album which croons, "I had to let it go..."
Inspired by you today.

Wait. What? said...

Hope - I am going to print this and keep it nearby - I need that reminder these days!

Lou said...

Excellent. A keeper to print out.

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http://brokenheartedmom.blogspot.
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Pammie said...

I've always loved this!

Unknown said...

Oh Hope this is such a great poem and thank you for publishing it. I am going to have to print it out and work post it where I can see it. Thank you and hope you are doing well.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for passing that along Hope! I love it!