What are you holding on to?
I’m back in Gainesville, FL after traveling for almost 3 weeks.
It’s bittersweet.
On one hand, I’m happy to be back home sleeping in my own bed with Veda, my 6-year-old Doberman Pinscher:). On the other hand, I’m sad to leave family that I don’t get to see very often, fun adventures, and such a beautiful place.
I had such a great time.
I spent about a week traveling up the east coast with my mom and then spent 2 weeks in Bar Harbor, Maine with my husband and family. If you haven’t been to that area, I highly recommend it. There is so much natural beauty there to see and the weather is lovely this time of year, especially compared to the hot and humid Florida weather.
Now back, I’m reminded of the impermanence of all things.
It hit me rather abruptly when we arrived late Saturday evening back in Gainesville. I noticed my resistance to letting the experience I just had go and to plopping myself back into the present moment.
I wanted to hold on.
I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to be hiking in Acadia National Forest with my family looking out at the beautiful views and enjoying the cooler weather. I wanted to be having dinner with family, catching up and telling stories about our memories of the past.
I wanted to be in those moments and not in the moment I was currently in.
It felt like my mind was having a temper tantrum. It was not wanting to be in the here and now, and it was kicking and screaming to let me know.
As I dropped below the kicking and screaming, there was a gratitude and appreciation for the experience I just had as well as a deep sadness.
A sadness for the loss of the experience, knowing that I would never have that same experience again. Yes, I could try my best to recreate it…but, it would never be exactly the same.
Letting go is hard.
Can you relate?
Do you ever find yourself holding on to past experiences, only to realize that this grasping (and resisting) is preventing you from fully living in the present moment?
If so, how do you work with it?
Do you grasp, all the while knowing that you can’t hold on to any experience...or do you let it pass, allowing yourself to experience the gratitude, appreciation, and sadness as you let it go?
While my mind would prefer to hold on and recreate the experience, it seems like the only option that allows me a chance of living in the present moment is to experience the sadness (as well as the gratitude and appreciation) and let it go.
Here are a few ways that I’ve been working with my experience that have supported me in this process of letting go:
- Being patient with the transition – Allowing myself time and space to adjust, as well as lots of compassion, is helpful to me in re-acclimating.
- Allowing the sadness and grasping to be there – Having awareness of the grasping (and resisting), as well as the sadness, and letting it be there supports me in easing the transition.
- Engaging in activities that ground me back into the present moment – Hiking, reading, meditating, yoga, connecting with my support system…these are all activities that support me in adjusting back to the present moment.
How about you?
What activities do you find to be supportive in grounding you back into the present moment? Would any of the things I mentioned above be helpful to you?
As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can support you in the process of letting go. If you’re anything like me, I’ve found this process comes in waves and it can be helpful to have support in navigating the ride:).
Simply click here to grab a spot on my calendar and we can talk.
In Ultimate Support of You!
Katharine
P.S. After only a few days, I'm feeling back into the swing of things. I'm looking forward to seeing what the present moment has to offer me:).