Letting Go May 25, 2008

Years ago there was a movie called PeeWee’s Big Adventure.  At 23, when I decided to venture to a new city where I had no job, friends or particular reason to be, my friends who called me BV christened my road trip “BV’s Big Adventure.”  That’s a title in my scrapbook.  But it’s not just a fun title that brings a smile to my face.  There’s so much more in those 3 words, a whole story summed up in one short title.

It speaks to me of a time when I went forth in search of a dream and independence.  It was new and scarey yet exciting to make the decision to go.  I forever look back on it as a period in my life that shaped my character.  It was a “defining moment” for me.

My Dad didn’t agree.  He was angry:  why would his youngest daughter leave all her family to move to a city she new nothing about, that wasn’t exactly around the corner, with no job or obvious means of getting one (considering I had no connections there) and where she had no friends or relatives.  I recall being told I could never move back home if I left and that to forget even thinking of having his blessing to go.

So despite the sadness of leaving my Dad and my family this way, I set out in my blue Pontiac Acadian filled with my clothes, a couple friends hitching a ride to their new life, and some good tunes.  

You see, I knew that my Dad’s words were a mask for his deep sadness in having to let go.  I knew his heart was aching and he thought his “threats” might have a chance in keeping me home.

But in life we all have moments where we need to let go.  (My friend Peter talks about letting go in a different manner in his blog.)  At this time in my life, this was my Dad’s moment to let go, and my moment too.

You see, by leaving, I was letting go of security, my comfort zone, and the possibility of losing unconditional love and support from my family (more perceived than real).

When you let go, you open up to new possibilities.  When I let go, I opened up to:  adventure, courage, confidence, and faith… in life, God and myself.

So as I drove out of the city limits and took a last look in my rear-view mirror at the home of my birth, I allowed myself to let go of the past and move towards a future of exciting new possibilities, people and adventures.

Are you at a time in your life where you need to let go of something?  Great new things await you… when you let go, they will come to you.  

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  “One good wish changes nothing. One good decision changes everything.”

FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  Reflect upon a time in your life that was a defining moment.   When were you faced with a tough decision, but once you made it you knew it was the right one to make?   Journal your thoughts about that time, how grateful you are to have had that experience, how grateful you are to have the freedom to choose.  And because we all think in pictures, I encourage you to see if you can find a photo of that time in your life.  Put it in your scrapbook, or frame it where you’ll see it each day.  It’s like a visual affirmation for you.

OPEN YOUR HEART:  Let go of whatever is holding you back right now from living fully and authentically.  Whatever is not working in your life right now, you have a choice.  It might not be an easy one.  But I guarantee you the sun will rise tomorrow.