Be dragged or let go

(A-Z Challenge: D)

My first time water skiing, I finally managed to get up on my feet, and was zipping along until I swerved over the side of the boat’s wake and fell face down. I was still hanging on to the rope for dear life, and got dragged speedily along the surface with water slamming into my face as I gulped for air, trying in a panic to get my bearings. It was probably only a few seconds before my instinct kicked in to let go, but it was a very long few seconds and it felt like my skin was being ripped off my body.

The moment I let go, the serenity was as sudden as my fall. I was floating in calm waters, watching the driver of the boat turn to circle back and pull me inside.

That’s life, isn’t it? When it feels like a situation or pattern is endless, when we keep running into something over and over with no clear path of action, with no words that feel just right, it’s exhausting and it leaves us scared and raw. Sometimes we just keep hanging on, powering through the discomfort while we wait for clarity or courage.

And then one day, we just let go.

Sometimes for me it’s not quite so simple. Too often, a situation is pretty much pried out of my hands because someone just refuses to cooperate with my version of what they should be doing.

Sometimes we get fired or dumped before we get the courage to leave on our own. Sometimes letting go comes disguised as giving up.

It still counts though. We know when we’ve let go. There’s a stillness. A feeling that yes, the situation still is what it is, but you know what? I’m detaching a little because there’s a lot of goodness in my life that deserves more attention. My world is so much bigger than this.