On New Year’s Eve, 2012, I attended the Release & New Beginning services at the Unity Christ Church of Bon Air, in Richmond, Virginia. The service was all about letting go, being set free, and forgiveness of self and others. The message was “Let Go of the Shore.” There was even a song with the same title.
I can remember sitting there listening to the music and hearing the words to the song. It took me a few moments to realize that there seemed to be moisture rolling down my cheeks. It was so unexpected, the tears that is.
There are situations that bring up feelings we have forgotten; we have put them in a box with a top and put it on our mental shelf. I know there has to be someone that knows what I am talking about. We are never alone in our experiences. They might not be identical, but they are enough alike that you and I can truthfully say, “I understand.”
I would like to share with you the topics focused on in that service.
Letting Go
What does letting go mean to you? When you hear or read these words, how does your heart and soul response? What feelings come up for you? What are they about? Are they issues you have added to your daily walk on this earth? Have this been holding you down or back? Why has it been so hard to even consider letting this issue(s) go?
You are being asked the same questions I am asking myself right at this moment. I asked myself these questions when I was in that service in 2012. The first thing that came to my mind was, “Who wants to think about this stuff?” Well, I had enough sense back in 2012 to know that thought meant, “I needed to be open to this letting go process.”
I dare say most of us have something, and it can be small or big, we need to let go of right now. In most cases, it is something we probably can’t do a thing about. I challenge you to free yourself of one of these ‘heavy worries’ this month. All you have to do is to decide to do it. It is as hard and as easy as that.
One final thought on this topic, “I use to think that holding on made me stronger. I have now lived long enough in the ‘School of Life’ to know letting go is where true strength is shown.”
Being Set Free
The word free is a powerful word. Based on the situation, it can evoke joy, peace, hope, a smile, screams of excitement, and so many other emotions. However, ‘being set free’ can be mental as well as physical.
I have volunteered at several women’s prisons since 2001. Over the years, I have seen many women physically set free from the prison, but they were still mentally imprisoned. Do you understand what I mean?
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