In one of my books, I tell a story about a mountain climber who falls off a cliff, grabs hold of the ledge, and dangling in midair, desperately cries out, “Lord help me!”
The Lord answers: “I will help you. But first you have to let go of the ledge.”
I believe this is what we’re all being called—or in some cases, forced—to do: let go of the ledges that once kept us safe. And that’s scary as hell.
But I’m beginning to think this may be the whole point. Widespread global fear is triggering our own personal fears, especially ones we’ve long kept buried.
Our tendency is to avoid uncomfortable feelings, stuff them down. But these bottled up emotions must come up to be healed. Or they will forever hold us back, tethered to the past.
A new future is emerging. And we are being asked to take time to reflect and release dysfunctional emotions that are weighing us down.
My daughter, Melissa Siig’s experience mirrors what many of us are feeling. She found herself becoming increasingly irritable and unhappy, struggling to adjust to all the sudden changes. Then one day, she realized, “I had to shed my old skin to make way for the new.” Here’s what she shared on Facebook:
“Last week, I took a shower, went into my closet to get dressed, laid down on my closet floor and stayed there for two hours, curled up in the fetal position in the dark.
“I cried and mourned and let my grief pour out of me for what my family and I and the world had lost. I needed to release my life as it had been for 47 years to make way for acceptance of something new.
“I had to let go. I needed to be reborn. Like the butterfly breaking through its cocoon, I slowly emerged from my dark womb and made my way to my bed. I laid in bed another hour or two. My family worried about me, I worried about me.
“But eventually, having purged my old self, I reemerged, transformed. I wiped the tears from my eyes, went upstairs, poured myself a glass of wine, and played Clue with my family.”
What ledge do you need to let go of, what do you need to shed, to make way for the new? Leave me a comment below.
Comments & Feedback