#LgLG

Letting go, I think is one of the hardest lesson that every human being must learn in life. Letting go of something you are so used to that when it's gone, it leaves a missing piece in your life; or may be a person who hurt you, an experience you feel so shameful of, or your past that hunts you and keeps you from moving toward your future's promise. There are pros and cons on letting go; it maybe hard with different degrees, but is commonly helpful in making us a better person.

Every day of our lives we need to let go, settling can't be our option, unless we can stop earth's rotation and revolution. There would come a time that when we are in the peak of our happiness we wanted to freeze the moment, but we know it's impossible (though nothing is really impossible). We let go of every seconds passing by simply because we can't take hold of it, but we rely on the feeling we had had then. And that feeling take a different state of letting go. Another thing is letting go of our past. This is where people commits common mistake. We know we must learn to let go the past that hurt us, and learn from it. That's right, but not definitely true. Because we must also learn to let go EVERYTHING in our past; good or bad things, excellence or failure, insecurities or expectations, etc. (P.S. letting go is different from forgetting. You can let go and forget at the same time, but you can't forget alone). So to cut to the chase, le'me tell you my story..

I'd faced a lot of situation where I am taught to let go, and do it bravely. First on the list, excellence. I'd been a consistent honor student since preschool to high school, but when I came to college, everything had changed. In fact, opposite happened. I thought I could be able to excel again because I had made it before, but when I failed I realized that history doesn't repeat itself, but we must become better everyday so we will be at our best in the future. In layman's term, IBA NOON, IBA NGAYON. It's not that it is more difficult, but it is more of handling things rightly, and letting go of my excellence in the past so I can receive excellence of today. Learnings will always be there, but focusing on the past excellence will just hinder your best effort to excel again. The key to excellence: move on! 

Philippians 3:13 (ESV)

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead 

Second on the list, failure. When I first failed in my study it's a big deal to me! I felt so disappointed with myself, more so, afraid of going on again. I thought when I'm done crying, things will be the same again, and the cheerful me will come to life again. But it never happened then. The brokenness I felt hunts me every time I come to bed at night, every time I'm alone and every time I close my eyes. Then my heart became immune with the hurt and no longer recognize pain anymore. Because I didn't let it go, failure multiplied itself like a pathogen. It took me a year or two before I completely understand how to let go of my failures. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

Thirdly, people. I'm not a best friend type of person, or someone that can be easily go along with, but when I consider one as friend, I would take him/her by heart. I don't believe in the saying "people come and people go", because I believe that when they come, it's up to you if you'll keep them in your life. And letting them go doesn't exist in my encyclopedia of life, until experience taught me that sometimes it's better to let go people than keeping them selfishly.

Proverbs 13:20 (MSG)  

20 Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. 

2 Peter 3:17 (ESV)  

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position 

Matthew 10:16 (ESV) 

 16 Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 

Fourth, dreams.. Every people have their own dreams and reasons of dreaming it. Life without a dream is not life anymore, it's death. But sometimes, we create in our own mind what we wanted in the future, without really knowing the purpose of our existence in this world. Dreaming outside our purpose will lead us in disappointment, worst case, destruction. As the bible so declares in Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25

Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)

12 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 16:25 (ESV)

25 There is a way that seems right to a man,

    but its end is the way to death.

The last on my list is my life.. It seems unusual to say that you have to learn how to let go of your life in order to move freely, but it's not a fallacy. Sometimes we take our lives seriously; we planned, we decide, we survive. We take it too seriously that we fear death. Letting go of our life doesn't mean welcoming death, it means living our today for eternity's sake, living not for our self, but for God's glory. As Paul said..

Philippians 1:21 (ESV) 

 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

So that's it! We can't expect the world to give us everything or to help us hold on to something that we wanted for life, sometimes letting go is necessary for us to move on, letting go of unnecessary baggage so we can enjoy travelling in the journey of life. But don't forget to bring with you these three: FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE.. Adios!