Estimated reading time: 3 min.

Dear reader, 

Welcome back to Guiding Words.

In the previous lesson, we listed some of the dangers of being impressionable and concluded that because there is often much more than what meets the eyes, we should always take everything with a grain of salt, especially when that thing is seen on a digital screen.

In a world where consumerism is rampant, and success is defined by having more, it is important to reflect on the importance of cultivating the art of letting go.

Let’s begin with some Words of Art:

There are three levels to the art of letting go:

1.     Let “It” go

2.     Let “I” go

3.     Let go

And why should “I” let go, you ask? 

-        To let go is not a choice, it is the realization that we are a mosaic. A mosaic of moments, of thoughts, of feelings, a consequence of the interactions of many things. 

The German psychologist Kurt Koffka, in his seminal textbook Principles of Gestalt Psychology published in 1935, wrote:

[It’s been said that] the whole is more than the sum of its parts. It is more correct to say that the whole is something else than the sum of its parts, because summing is a meaningless procedure, whereas the whole-part relationship is meaningful.

We share the same conclusion as Kurt Koffka, and we would add that it is from the whole-part relationship that the ego is born.

The ego, alone, does not have substance, and it is the process of making sense of the experiences felt by the body that gives it sustenance.

The more the ego realizes that it is born from parts and pieces of experience, the closer it gets to being able to let go.

You are not your thoughts nor your feelings,

You are the silence in the background.

The path to serenity requires letting go of many things, not because they are bad in and of themselves, but simply because:

The ocean does not carry the ships sailing on it, but they sail, nonetheless. 

The sky does not carry the planes flying in it, but they fly, nonetheless. 

As you live, why are you trying so hard to carry the stuff in life? 

You do not need to carry them to make use of them.

We spend our days thinking about the past, the present and the future, continuously carrying the weight of complex and many times contradictory feelings. However, an excessive load will greatly reduce the speed of the carrier and will also make it more prone to breakdowns.

We should remember that in order to experience more of life – more joy, more fulfillment – it is imperative that we cultivate the art of letting go. If the body was to hold on to the air that it breathes in, it would perish. If the mother was to hold on to the child in her womb, both would perish. As we have mentioned before, Life is motion and to hold the motion is to destroy it. Letting go, therefore, is the only path to growth.

This concludes our lesson on the importance of letting go. In the next lesson, we will explore the world in search of the best place to live.

See you in three days and until then, may Serenity be upon you.

Didi

Question: After reading this lesson, can you think of things that you’re holding onto and that letting go can help you grow?

Reply with a yes or no and feel free to go beyond two or three characters.

P.S.: I am trying to find the right words to convey my thoughts in a language that is not mine, so please pardon my mistakes and feel free to reply with any suggestions and/or corrections that can make this reading experience more enjoyable. 

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