When you’ve experienced loss, abandonment, disappointment, rejection, or trauma, you tend to put a lot of measures in place to protect yourself. For me this showed up in my romantic relationships. Whenever a new relationship began, I would keep an ex-boyfriend, or other easily accessible person who was interested in me nearby just in case it didn’t work out.
This was a defense mechanism so deeply rooted in my fears that new and true love had no room to breathe or grow. I was suspended, or better yet stuck, in a state between the past and the present. In this limbo I never quite allowed myself to be fully immersed in the beauty and benefits that the moment before was trying to bring.
Thankfully, my journey of growth, healing, and inner work was perfectly timed to collide with a love so patient and kind that he held the heavy mirror until I was truly able to see beyond the blinding clouds of trepidation. This allowed me, for the first time in my life, to release all the security measures I had put in place to protect my heart.
Now that I’ve released the past and the worries around growth and change, I am free to receive the gifts that have been before me all along.
Here are a few strategies to support you as you release to receive.
Appreciate the Great. Sometimes we are so consumed with looking back, that we miss what is right in front of us. There is a person, opportunity, or environment that you have access to right now that you are taking for granted. I thought of this last night as I watched one of my high school classmates starring in a hit television series, and another being honored at the Tony awards. I saw that greatness in them way back when we shared stages, classrooms, and other spaces.
Who or what is before you now that you can savor while it is still here?
Deep Movement. I love being moved to tears, uncontrollable laughter, or talking out loud to myself when no one else is around. Art, in all of its forms, does that for me. It’s hard to be moved when you are not in flow. Being in flow requires intense presence. What moments of pure bliss might you be missing because you are holding onto something or someone so tightly that you’ve become numb? Free yourself to feel.
What moves you deeply?
The Lesson of Less. When you find yourself repeating painful patterns and experiences, it means that you have yet to learn the lesson. It will keep coming back in other forms until you accept it, apply it, and implement it. This may look like letting something go. A belief, habit, or relationship that may have served a very important purpose for a season, but it is no longer useful, and may in fact be obsolete. Lessen your load by getting the lesson so you can let it go.
What, or who is it time to release with love so that you can move into the moment?
This week I challenge you to untangle yourself from old attachments. What entanglement from the past are you holding onto like a weighted security blanket? That may be the very thing that is holding you back. What you really want is on the other side of what you are rejecting or trying to protect yourself from. Make space for the new that is trying to make its way to you. Release to receive.
Manifestation Affirmations
I am grateful for the greatness that is before me daily.
I am lessening my load by learning the lessons and letting go.
I am engaged in experiences that move me deeply.