To Let Go or Not to Let Go: Is that the Question?

Many people have used the months of COVID-isolation to reflect, to clean out closets and other storage areas, and to simplify their lives.  Pre-pandemic activities and distractions seemed to melt away as we sought solace and comfort at home... safe from others.

As our social options have begun to reopen, I wonder what we are carrying forward: what have we learned about ourselves from this time of noticing, reflection, and clearing out?

As you return to normal, what have you left behind?
(Photo:  Liberty Station, San Diego - July 4th, 2021)

As I tried to go through boxes in my garage, I would get sidetracked with what to give away, throw away or keep.  Memories of family activities, elementary school friends, high school awards, and college assignments surfaced.  This Life Review opened appreciation for parents, teachers and mentors who have guided me; family and friends who have encouraged me; and work colleagues who have challenged me to grow in skills and knowledge.

It was as if I was looking back at distant corridors of my life while at the same time seeing openings of opportunities still available.

What path will you choose to take post-COVID?
(Photo:  Liberty Station, San Diego)

The initial goal of clearing out the garage has become an on-going discovery of Life's Riches and Rewards reflected in the willingness to be curious and learn.  For instance, the questions I am now considering are:

• What baggage do I carry around with me from relationship to relationship?
• What memories are attached, and do these memories keep me from letting go?
• How do I decide what to hold onto and what to let go?

It seems that as we emerge from our COVID survival mode, we have a choice:  do we want to see the Windows of Opportunity reflected in the lenses that still illuminate our lives?

What do you see reflected in your life?
(Photo: lighthouse lens from
Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego)

I wonder, do we... or why do we... want to Return to Normal?  Is it that we don't have to reflect on or notice the baggage that burdens us?  Is being on autopilot a mechanism that keep us from facing our memories?  Or is it that we don't know how to let go?

 

Whatever is happening, our lives are reopening.  We have choices to make on how to rebuild and refresh our relationships.  As a friend recently reminded me, maybe the file folders I have about people in my life -- those perceptions and conclusions I have made and filed away about you -- need to be reviewed.

 

Opening our Windows of Understanding will allow fresh air to come in and remove the staleness that has been undisturbed for too long.  What is the question you face today:  To let go? Or not to let go?

May we begin to see the baggage we carry.  May we reflect on the burdens that weigh us down.  And may we make choices to let go of past misunderstandings, misconceptions, and missteps.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)