Flowing & Letting Go
Early in my professional life, I collaborated on a project where a friend and I were responsible for ‘cleaning’ rows and rows and rows of survey data: making sure that the data we were working with matched what people had actually written on thousands of hand written surveys.
Together we’d spend hours checking and rechecking our code to make sure we got things right. Every once in a while, we’d find ourselves perseverating over two or three surveys. And then one of us would remember: this perseverating isn’t going to make a material difference in the results.
We had a ritual for such moments. We’d throw our hands up over our heads, let the wiggles out, and say out loud to each other: let it go, let it go, let it go. And then we could move on in our work.
This was an experience of flowing and letting go.
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Many years later, I worked on an executive team that had a hard time setting liberated priorities for our work. It felt like every summer we’d come together for a retreat: get clear about what we really hoped we could do in the year ahead, recognize that it was too much, and then the clock would run out.
We’d move forward as though there were a plan, but–in reality–we never took enough off the list so each person was left to fend for themselves when it came to setting priorities for their team. It was a frustrating experience that I can still conjure up in my soma as I write about it.
This was an experience of holding on to what did not serve.
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Inspired by these two experiences, I offer this ritual for flowing and letting go. The next time you are overwhelmed with too much to do. Try this.
Turn on a hot steamy shower and hop in.
As you feel the water flowing over your skin, say out loud: “Just like this water I am in flow. Everything in me is alive and in motion.”
Enjoy the sensation of the hot water. Breathe deeply in and out. Saying: “flow, flow, flow.” Tuning into the movement and flow of the experience.
When you’ve had enough, turn off the shower, dry off and dress. Then take out a pen and paper. At the top of the page write: “I am alive and in the flow. Being in the flow of life, I’m ready to let go of…” And then see where the experience takes you, don’t think too hard just write the first few things that come to mind.
Leave the page alone for a few days and then come back to it. Now’s the time to ask yourself the practical question: What steps do I need to take to let go of these things? How can I make more space for myself?
