Letting Go – 379
What do you want to let go of? What is preventing you from completely letting go? Eric was inspired by a meditation he heard on the Insight Timer app, titled She Let Go. A very rough outline of our conversation follows: * What does it mean to let go? * Stop doing things that I don’t have the power to carry out (control someone else, e.g.) * What am I letting go of? * Resentment * Anger * Anxiety * Blame * Fear * Shame * Expectations * Catastrophizing the future * The past * The need to be right, to win, to control * Old behavior * “Need” to react to triggers. * Responsibility * Dependence on others * What tools do I have to help me let go? * Slogans * Let go and let God. * How important is it? * Would you rather be right or be happy? * Easy does it. (let go of anxiety) * One day at a time. (let go of worry) * Live and let live – let go of trying to live someone else’s life for them and live my own * Neutral responses * You could be right. * Oh. * Random thoughts * I have no dog in this fight. * Not my circus, not my monkeys! * Let go or be dragged. * Meditation * “Turned a 12-cylinder type A Leo into a 6 cylinder hybrid. Learned to slow down.” * “Why?” * “Drill down” to find something I can actually do something about. Example: I am afraid of my loved one’s drinking. Why? I am afraid that I will lose them. Why? I am afraid of being alone. * When I let go of things I don’t like, I make room for new things (hopefully better things) to come in. * Recognize “alcoholic” behaviors * Provoke conflict * Create anxiety * When I let go of other people’s stuff, I can live my own life. Readings and Links We read from Reaching for Personal Freedom, the Step 1 chapter; Courage to Change, March 5. The poem “She Let Go” was written by Safire Rose, and you can listen to it on Insight Timer, read by Jack Godsman. Al-Anon books can be purchased online at the Al-Anon Store. Patti asked about episodes on regaining trust. There are 3 about trust: How do you trust? – Episode 281, Trust and Trustworthy – Episode 228, and Trust – Episode 91. In addition, this search turns up other shows where trust was a topic in some respect: