Letting Go - Life 101 Lecture

In time, in age, we slow down. The doki doki (heart beating) days of youth dissipate into black shrouded mystery. Due of our own needs to survive we overlook the needs of our hearts. It's not especially a bad thing when you have to spend your days working for someone who doesn't care about your health or stability. Since you give your life up to pay for it, your own luxury needs become secondary. Who has time to worry about passion when you need to find out where your next meal is coming from?

Despite the best efforts we might make to assure that we don't lose ourselves, we cannot deny that when we have bills to pay, and people to care about, life is going to be a strain on our well being. It's no one's fault that we are social creatures who need one another to keep moving forward. It's even harder when you cannot access the things you need to have in your life to keep yourself beautiful. So it is at a time like this you need to let go. If your needs cannot be fulfilled due to self, physical, or socially imposed inability to get what you need, then take a deep breath.

We do slow down in time. It keeps us from burning out or dying off too quickly. Also, as we age we learn things more completely. As scary as it is to know that the way you lived up until now must change, you have to think about your own well being. Sure in the vigorous days of youth we wanted everything, so we could spend it all living our dreams. But it is time to be realistic. Were there things you wanted to do as a kid that you couldn't? And now that you are an adult do you still want to do them? If so, don't you have a better idea how to go about it? If you are trying and failing at every lift of your finger then take the time to let yourself let go of the youthful chaos that you can no longer hold onto. Recognize how living hard and fast effects yourself as well as the world around you. Take some time to think about how it is affecting the people you love.

It might be time to quiet down, hold back, and make your plan. We must all take responsibility of ourselves. If you find yourself blaming the world for your hardships then you don't understand what living is all about. All the hardships are based on challenges presented to us by the world around us to make us stronger. So you do have the choice as a creature of free will to complain about it, but you must try to overcome it. If you cannot, or chose not to then that is a loss. From every loss we will learn. If we must win, then we must be capable to take advantage of all of the opportunities presented to us. Foolishly running in doesn't work anymore; take some time to think about what you need to think about. At this age we don't have the energy to make too many more mistakes. We are adults now. That doesn't mean we lose everything, it just means the folly of youth is a thing of the past. Don't be disheartened because you grew up. I do remember hearing about people saying they longed for the days when they were grown up, so that they would be able to take advantage of everything that comes with it. Perhaps we didn't assume we would lose something in order to gain something else, but life is cyclic. we move away from one thing in order to move towards another. It is the nature of life. Life breeds new Life while Death makes room for new Life. Flowers always wilt, wood wears down, fabrics thin and tear, and food always digests and waste is removed. Love itself grows and fades. We might not be able to find anything that lasts forever, unless we take good care of it.

Allow yourself to do what comes naturally with age. Take time to rest, to retreat, to quiet your soul. Once you can stop flailing around like a chicken with it's head lopped off, you will find you are more powerful than (perhaps) you ever though you could be. Remember what Uncle Ben Said "With great power comes great responsibility." So take the time to let yourself chill out. Get in touch with yourself. Evaluate your strengths, Recognize your failings, Find the all growed up you, the one you always knew you'd become, and then you'll have you better figured out. Spring cleaning comes every year, and as we embark on the springtime of our lives, it is time to get rid of outdated modes of living. Let go of the parts of yourself that don't work for you anymore to make room for new, improved ways of experiencing this expansive world.Hold onto your memories, but get rid of the old bike. It is time to move forward without being burdened by old baggage. You don't need to jump ship, you just need to figure out what is holding you back from getting what you want and getting rid of that. Only then will you be best prepared to interact with the world.