Letters to Myself: Entry Seventy-Three
Prompt: When have I let go of a plan before, and what showed up in its place that I couldn't have planned for myself?
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
A reflection on the idea of letting go; how that feeling of letting go can be a hard thing to grasp, but that is also the reason you have to let go. It will be hard, but it will be worth it.
The longer I am alive, the more I see the idea of ‘letting go of things’ as a way to find peace. Not only is it difficult to search, plan, organize the schedule, the routine, the habits; all of which only contribute to our controlled lives. Having plans are a great thing, there is no denying that. However, to expect it to go all the way in the way you see it in your head is nonsense. And I feel like many people can see that, especially the time we are living in right now. It is a very strange time, however, there are also a number of things that are beautiful to see in the world. It is not all bad, but we have to remember to let go; to let go of plans, expectations, judgements, opinions. We all get so consumed by the noise that we forget how to treat another fellow human in a face-to-face setting.
It is interesting to live in this time where there are many things happening, and we have access to many things that potentially we should not have access to; it does not mean its a bad thing, but I sense there is many that being so consumed by the digital landscape that we are forgetting how it is to treat others. When one is willing to let go of their lives and their consumption of all of the things in the world that somehow gives them joy, they will realize that time is so short. When you don’t let go, you just find yourself wanting to hold on longer and why is that? Why do you want to continue that cycle? Over and over again, you find yourself hanging onto a version of yourself that you believed in; that you were searching for and planning for; organizing your whole life around it, only to find out you will never find it.
There's a reason the old Jungle Book song about the bare necessities has stuck around — the whole idea is that what you truly need will find its way to you if you stop gripping so hard. That one can truly let go of the practical things around you; see the nature that exist all around you. There is beauty in seeing the world from a bare perspective; as to say that when you humble yourself, putting the ego aside, knowing that you have a chance to look into the sky and see the stars around you. We only know so much as well; we only see the world by a fraction in our lifetimes. The things that matter in your life should be minimal, but major in perspective.
I am currently reading and studying Ghandi’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, and I think that his philosophy was deeply rooted in this perspective. His style was bare necessities and always resorting to intense fasting, especially in the movements he was a part of. It is strange, that a person that strong-willed, willing to lay it all on the line, is still able to make sense that life itself is meant to have simplistic approaches, otherwise, you will lose yourself; you will be consumed by the things that are happening all around us. We are all consumed by something and whether we like it or not, we have to be the ones who decide if we are going to make that jump or not.
I know for me, I have been letting go of many things lately. Considering the amount of sorrow I have been feeling this entire year I have been writing, I think it is good to remind ourselves that it is going to be okay. And that we should be asking ourselves why are we still hanging onto some sort of control? Why are we controlling something that intensely? And for what reason? Is it a good enough reason to do this controlling? Control your life as in have some parameters, but don’t corner yourself. That is the mistake many of us tend to do. Don’t corner yourself in; actually believe that you can let go of the certain things around you and move forward. The stoics called this the act of acquiescence. Meaning we accept the events that lay before us and happen in action. We have no control over that, and we must respond and react to the events as they come our way.
It is important to realize that letting go is a hard thing to do, but not impossible. We are seeing many events happening in the world as of this year in 2026. But to become emotional and allow yourself to view these events as something that is controlling you, that is the mistake you are cornering yourself into. We have the control to turn off the screen and find more peace in the things around us. As long as we are willing to observe and see that it is so vital to our survival. There is hope on the other side of letting go; especially when you are thinking about the version of yourself you want to become. Letting go of the ideas floating around in your head that is giving you this feeling of stress. Let go of the things that you know will be hard to let go of; but on the other side it is life-changing. You can find peace knowing that there is a major change that can come about in any second. Be ready for these events as it will be the chance for you to see the beauty in that.
Main Thought: Let go of the life that you are controlling. See the beauty of the other side of the coin where you can just let go and find peace again. Stop being controlled by the external forces, especially on the digital landscape that consumes all of us.
This post is part of my "Letters to Myself" series — a weekly free-write blog where I explore personal growth, curiosity, and healing through simple prompts. Sometimes reflective, sometimes fun, but always real. Thank you for being here.
References:
Photo by Kyle Gare
Campbell, Joseph. Quote attributed — widely cited, no single verified source.
Gandhi, Mahatma. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. 1927.
