The below image is so many of us. If we are not in that situation, we can still relate because chances are we have gone through this. Notice how the hand that's holding on is almost bleeding? The pain of holding on. Using every bit of energy and effort you have to hold on even if it means killing yourself in the process. We have been taught that nothing worthwhile is handed over to us and we simply have to fight to get the things we want. While that may be true, I think those lessons kind of missed to remind us that sometimes you gain nothing by holding on and everything by letting go.
Too many of us are stuck in places we shouldn't be, with people we no longer recognise and everyday we convincing ourselves to hold on, cutting ourselves and bleeding in silence hoping that things will be okay. You need the money from that job to pay the bills, even if you have been dragging yourself there for the past few years, that's exactly what you will continue to do because you have convinced yourself that you don't have a choice. You have been with this person for so long, you invested so much -you resolve that it's better the devil you know despite that he continues to cheat on you and show you how little you mean to him. You hold on, killing parts of yourself with every day you allow the situation to persist but you blind yourself to releasing.
Where would you get money if you left that job? Who would love you if you left and took the children with you? Who would befriend you if you finally told them that you are tired of the way they have been treating you in this friendship? You hold on because you have managed to tell yourself that that's the only option available to you. You are going to make things work, whatever they are, whatever it takes. Even when you exhaust all possibilities, letting go is still not an option worth considering. You continue to suffer and inflict more pain on the wounds that already exist because you believe that's all you can do.
Cowards are quick to give up and the strong hold on and fight to get their way. Aren't those the subtle messages that go around that tell us that if we let go, all we are doing is showing our weakness. You are told to be appreciative, do you know how many people are without jobs? Quit your moaning because you are blessed. Be thankful that he at least cares for you financially even if he doesn't sleep at home during the weekends, it could be worse right? She's the mother of your children, you can't leave her now without being seen as selfish. You can't be chasing thrills when you have responsibilities. They tell us these things and we believe them, we continue to hold on but we are the ones who feel the pain. Who feel the sting that comes from holding on yet we let the decision to stay where we are be made by those who don't have to live with the consequences.
Letting go is painful but holding on can be worse. When you force yourself to live with the pain of what you know because the future is uncertain and scary. Sometimes the pain of letting go is exaggerated in our minds, keeping us hostage to a present we are not entirely happy with. We then continue exposing ourselves to the very thing that caused the wound in the first place and then cry that it hurts. Why wouldn't it hurt? How could we possibly begin to heal if we won't separate ourselves from the situations that cause us pain?
You certainly cannot give up every time that you hit hurdles in your life. Life cannot be one big party without struggles and opportunities for growth but we should never force ourselves to hold on when that becomes the very thing that wounds and kills us. Don't be the person who died while there is still breath in their body because they taught themselves to hold on and stay on even when the situation calls on them to run in the opposite direction.
Listen to your life and look out for the signs because it's when we are not paying attention that we miss the time to release and let go. Even when you are not sure you actually are but fear is holding you back, the Universe will always lead you to the door in fact push you to it but it remains your choice to walk through it. The reason some of us are bleeding is because we refuse to let go, we are determined to keep holding on even if it no longer makes sense to. We are bleeding because we insist on keeping the very same things that life wants us to release. Sometimes no matter how much we love and value, we can only show that love by letting go.
You will never know what it feels like to live without pain, betrayal, rejection, feelings of inadequacy - not until you make the choice to release the things and people who reinforce these feelings in you. The world outside the scope of your disappointments only exists when you release the things you are holding onto that cause you pain.
