Holding On...and Letting Go

     I’ve never been any good at letting go. One reason is due to my sentimentality. I still have birthday cards from my 1st birthday (I’m 31). I still have my 1st doll (she smells and looks good as new) and I still have some roses (now dried) that I got for my 16th birthday from a crush at the time. So yes, I’m a big sap!  However, the other reason I’m not big on letting go is from fear that something better may not come along or that I might need it someday, only to be disappointed when I remember that I got rid of it. Hence all the extra clothes and shoes in my closet...and even perhaps the extra people in my life. I think that often times, there are many reasons why people hold on to things, people,  and relationships that have long since ended or outlived their shelf-life. But like my mom always says, “...in life, there is a time for everything”; including a time to let go.

    After a recent heart to heart with my cousin, it occurred to me that people hold on to situations for many different reasons. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, deep down in our hearts, we always know when the time has come to walk away. The signs are always there; red flags staring us dead in the face, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. Sometimes, we hold on because we want to do the right thing. Only, the right thing is costing us our happiness! So how right can it really be? Other times we hold on because it’s easier to do nothing. But why should we settle? Is it settling? (Another questions for another post, perhaps?).

    I understand that each situation is unique in itself. Yet, I think that in order to clear the clutter in our lives (and in our closets) we have to believe that the best is yet to come; that we deserve better. I’m afraid that if we don’t, we’ll miss out on what could be true bliss (think of it as making room for a fierce pair of red-bottoms!). I also know it’s much easier said than done. My answer to that: mind over matter. If you believe it, it’ll happen. Now, there is most certainly an exception to every rule. This is definitely not a call for you to get rid of all the important stuff and people in you life b/c things don’t seem to be going your way. But the truth is, if it’s weighing you down, and not allowing you to move on, it needs to go...like yesterday!  In the words of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" :

    "You gotta know when to hold 'em,

    Know when to fold 'em

    Know when to walk away

    Know when to run..." 

          Just think: the best is yet to come!