Day 135 of #LiveWell2017

Last week I lost something. My journal. The one I started on January 1st of this year and where I hatched my ideas for this blog and recorded quotes and notes from the many books I’ve read since then about meditation, mindfulness, kindness, and generosity. When I first realized it was gone, I searched for it, then I asked others to search, then I told myself to let it go. It was gone. There was nothing I could do about it. It was impermanent, like everything else.

Yet, at some point each day, I find myself still reaching for it to read a quote or to write down a new idea. In those moments, I remember my journal is gone and feel a sense of loss – a small suffering. These moments are gifts. Gifts of opportunity for me to practice letting go, not clinging.

Yesterday I spent the morning participating in mindful triathlon called Wanderlust108. During the 5K warmup, the yoga session, and the guided meditation, each leader reminded us of the power of letting go, the power of embracing the present moment, the power of flow. Letting go isn’t just about letting go of things we perceive as bad or sad, it’s about realizing that everything is fleeting, changing, impermenant – even the good, the joy, the pleasure. We must be willing to let go of those things, too.

Letting go is hard, but the reward is happiness. The loss of my journal is a small event in the scheme of things, but a grand opportunity for me to practice letting go.

Have you had a recent opportnity to practice letting go? What was it?