The Art of Letting Go

Hey there fellow Steemians!
Today, I thought I'd just share a quick message with you all in hopes that maybe someone out there can benefit from it, or it can make some of you days go by easier!
I wanted to share with you a discovery that I recently made that's been on my mind quite a bit, and that's the world's greatest weapon. And no this is not a tangible weapon like a gun, but a weapon that not only is inside every one of us, but also gets stronger the more we use it.

The weapon I'm referring to is kindness. And I already know what you're thinking; you're thinking "Justin, what Hallmark, Mother's Day card, philosophical bullshit are you hitting us with this time?" Well hear me out. The epiphany happened while I was at work. Anyone who's ever had a job where you work with a lot of people understands how hard it can be when working with difficult, lazy, or people with attitudes. Unfortunately, these types of employees are everywhere, and they are abundant. The worst part is that in most jobs, confrontation is frowned upon, and you are expected to report these types of incidents to supervisors.

Well one morning, one of my coworkers had a particularly nasty attitude, and it seemed directed straight towards me. Like anyone would, I didn't take very well to this, and I pettily ignored him for the rest of the day. Although I found that even though I was completely ignoring him and at this point he had left me alone, I was still angry. And the longer I let that anger sit there and ferment, I found the stronger it became. By lunch time I was so angry I was to the point of passive-aggressively closing things louder than usual like a child. While I was on my break I was sitting there thinking about how rude he was to me and how great it would feel to tell him off. At that point I realized how slow the day felt like it was going and how much more tired I was than usual. That's when it occurred to me: all that anger had physically exhausted me. As I sat and pondered this, I came to the conclusion that what I was angry over was completely not worth ruining my day over and it would be better to just let it go. When I did this, I felt so relieved. It felt like someone had lifted a burden off my shoulders and I could finally enjoy my day. From that point forward, I tried to be as kind to my coworker as possible. And I'll be honest, at first it confused the hell out of him, but soon after he changed his attitude and I found that everyone else at my work seemed to grow into a better mood too.

That night while I was in the shower, I thought about what happened at work. I thought about how easy it was to just "let it go" but in a real way that was for me and no one else; which brought me to ponder the question "What else can I apply this to?" Then I sat down and thought about all the people in my life who had wronged me and contemplated whether what they had done to me was worth holding onto, and I found that most of the time the answer was a resounding no. At that moment, I discovered how truly liberating it is to let something go that you've held onto for so long. All the bullies from when I was a kid, to all the rude customers who've ruined my day, and even family members who'd wronged me. The more I let go, the more weight came off my shoulders. Yes, obviously there are things in everyone's life that are harder to let go than others. In fact, I think there are things in everyone's life that seem unforgivable. But the thing is, is you don't let things go for other people, you do it for yourself. It's not because that person deserves forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.

Let's talk about hate as a concept for a moment. What good comes from hating someone, honestly? Nothing. Hating someone does absolutely nothing to that person. In fact, you can go your entire life hating someone and unless you or someone else tells them, they may never know. Now, while having hate and anger in your heart does absolutely nothing to the other person, it most certainly hinders you. Walking around all day with anger in your heart is not only exhausting but it's not good for the rest of the world. Because when you allow someone else's negativity to impact your attitude, you unintentionally spread negative vibes to the world around you, causing a butterfly effect of negativity. Not only that, but after enough time with enough hate in your heart, it can really start to wear on your personality.

Letting go is the very first step in liberation. Allowing yourself to finally let things go that your heart has held onto for so long can change your entire outlook on life. And no, most people don't deserve it. A lot of people are horrible and can ruin your life. But whether or not you allow them to have control over you, your thoughts, and your mood is completely your choice. The only person who has control over your happiness is you.
Thanks for reading Steemians and I really hope someone can benefit from this!
Steem on my friends!