We are all seeking happiness. The formula for happiness is being able to appreciate all of the blessings that are already in our lives. But moments come when we get caught up in bitterness, fear, or memories of hurts from the past. These negative thoughts keep us from being in that place of appreciation. Letting go of this negativity allows us to be fully present to the blessings that surround us.
Letting go is something that we all want to be able to do, but we often don’t know how. We experience clarity and freedom at times, but then the old patterns return. We all have something that we know is not serving us that we wish to release. How do we learn to let go?
This reminds me of a story about how monkeys are caught in India. The monkey catchers will dig a shallow hole and place a pot with a narrow neck and a round body inside. They cover the pot completely except for the opening which is level with the ground and then put a few nuts inside. When a monkey comes around, it puts its hand in the pot to get the nuts. When the monkey tries to pull its hand out while clutching the nuts, it gets trapped. The monkey catcher returns, puts a noose around the monkey’s neck, and hits its hand with a stick. Only then does the monkey let go of the nuts and frees its hand from the pot. But now it’s caught. The monkey that was free and was dancing on the treetops has a noose on its neck, gets put in a cage, and then is shipped away from its home in the forest.
We often find ourselves in the same situation. Our minds are free, but then a thought comes in – a past hurt, a memory of loss, unfulfilled expectations, fear, anger, jealousy, hatred, greed. We cling on to these “nuts,” refusing to let go, and easily become trapped. Our nature is to be free, but we get trapped by these mind created ways of being that are not serving us and that are keeping us away from our connection with our true Self, our divine Self.
How do we free ourselves?
What I have found is that the most helpful way to let go of negativity is to cultivate a higher vision for life; to find something that we are fully devoted to. When you are truly dedicated to something, all of those negative tendencies that trap us become less significant. When we truly cultivate a higher vision for our life and realize that there is so much more to accomplish, explore, and discover about ourselves in this lifetime, we won’t keep running back to the past and to those things that do not serve us. Devotion to something higher helps us remain free.
Just as the monkey remains trapped by its own grip, we too can find ourselves held back by what we refuse to release. But we can make a conscious choice to let go. It is our devotion to something higher that allows us to transcend those patterns that limit us. This commitment isn’t just about moving on; it’s about making every act of letting go an act of reconnecting us with our truest, freest selves.
