Letting Go, Metaphor and Motivation

Last night I replaced my Mom hat for my Doctor hat to remove my daughter's two stitches. Her little sister held a reading lamp over the cut and sang songs to comfort her big sister. It was a group effort as we opened up the Kinzer Stitch Removal Services, and she was my brave little daughter, trusting me to dig into her wound. My daughter was told the removal of her stitches wouldn't hurt but as it turns out, it can hurt if the stitches have to be dug into. This was our second removal attempt, and the first try ended unsuccessfully with two stitches still in and a traumatized little six-year old.

So there I am with sterilized metal equipment and telling her to stay still as I try to clip the medical thread that held together her cut for the last two weeks. She cried out, "Get me a doctor, just take me to the doctor!" Her pleading was almost enough to make me change my mind, but I knew what had to be done. The song, "I need a Doctor" repeated in my head.

No one wants their child to hurt, let alone to be the one doing it. But they were non-dissoluble stitches, and we knew they had to come out. And it seemed they were getting more difficult to remove each day. As outsiders, we know the big picture with stitches. We know it is necessary.

What needs to be removed from your life to get you to the next level? What is going to hurt? What is uncomfortable but necessary? What keeps hurting you? What do you do that is not in the big picture of your future life? What can you let go of? 

The metaphor is huge. Transformation can be painful. Removing things is painful, even if it's hurting you. Change is hard. But sometimes things, habits, people MUST come out of your life. We have to get through the pain in order to properly heal, we have to get rid of things in order to fly.

Just like a mother bird must watch her little baby bird fly from the nest for the first time. Just like you must separate from your little child on their first day of school. We watch our loved ones, just as the universe watches our painful transformations. Fear can stop us dead in our tracks, but looking at the big picture is necessary for our transformation. I saw the big picture (removing the stitches) but my poor little daughter was just thinking of the fear. Can you see from the observer's eyes, the big picture?

Just like you clean out your closet and wa-la, you make room for new clothes. Just like you let go of things you don't need when you move into a new house. When you let go of the non-serving things in your life, you make room for the new, the better, the improved. Consider if the caterpillar refused his transformation, we wouldn't have butterflies.

It might hurt. It might be scary. It might leave us frightened of the future, of our finances, of our mental stability, of our material hooks. But just remember, there will always be rewards, there will always be risks, there will always be mountains made of molehills and there will always be discomfort in change. Even there can be discomfort in holding on. But just remember, there's liberation on the other side of change.

My message today is short, let go of what does not serve your greatest happiness. We are creatures of joy. Seek out your joy. Seek out your bliss. You are innately happy. What are you doing that blocks your sensation of joy?

Breath deep and let it go. Decide what the thing is, and hit the Delete button.

Much love!!