Holding On and Letting Go

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. - Henry Ellis

One thing I spend quite a bit of time contemplating is knowing when to hold on and when to let go. How funny it is that I just devoted an hour and a half to a post on this subject, with which I was very pleased and in the stage of conclusion, and then somehow deleted most of it.

No matter. My whole point was that the only way to deal with holding on and letting go is to give up fear of regret. There is a reason why my blog disappeared, just like everything else that happens in this world. To mourn the disappearance of all my carefully chosen words would just be to hold on to the past, to nothing.

There is a place for regret, however, if it is because one has retrogressed or might retrogress spiritually. Then it becomes the catalyst for a positive change. It may lead one to forgiveness or retribution or better yet, foresight. That, I think, is the real purpose of regret. To teach us.

So, how does one know when to hold on and when to let go in normal every day life? Listen to other people? Listen to your inner voice? Cling tightly without question or leap into the void without looking? All of the above, I think. It's mostly important just to live, to love, to make all decisions from a foundation of true compassion, and to move on in life without wasting time wondering what might have been. Imagination is magical when applied to the present, torture when applied to the past.

So, I guess I'll just hold on here as is for awhile and sooner or later I'll figure out when to let go. In the mean time, please pardon me if I sometimes, maybe, think about little things a little too much.

I think I'm meant to be working in the garden right now.

Namaste.