Let it go or let it be?

“Let it go” has become a catch phrase popularised by the Disney movie Frozen. In the film, the character Elsa has an ‘aha’ moment and realises her Dad’s advice to ‘conceal don’t feel’ her feelings, was misguided and she can finally break free of what was holding her back (by running away and building an ice castle).

It sounds liberating on the surface, but what if this is not always the answer?

Recently, I was ‘trying’ to meditate in order to deal with anger. The guided meditation I was listening to encouraged me to “allow my anger to be”. It sounded weird, but I tried it. I decided to accept I was angry, without judging myself and trying to figure out why I was so angry.

And something amazing happened. By allowing myself to feel angry, I eventually felt less angry. I was amazed. I felt immediately lighter and was able to get on with my day.

Later, I heard confirmation of this insight on this podcast where Spiritual teacher ‘Adyashanti’ said the following:

Let everything be exactly as it is

And:

If you can’t let it go, can you let it be?

I realised for me trying get rid of my anger was fuelling more anger! More pain. More suffering. Which is not fun!

So how does this idea of let it be work and why is it so important?

What you resist, persists.

When we have uncomfortable or painful feelings surface, many of us medicate or otherwise escape from them. Sometimes literally with medication but things like food, drugs, alcohol, sex, compulsive relationships can all serve to numb out painful feelings. In Elsa’s case, she escaped her frozen feelings by literally running away and building an ice castle (turning ice into an ice castle sounds like the old turn lemons into lemonade approach to life).

But just like a paracetamol tablet provides temporary relief from pain, ignoring or blocking how we truly feel by saying “it’s ok” or “I just need to let it go” can work for the short-term but it’s my belief that it will resurface eventually. My experience leads me to believe the sooner we experience and accept how we really feel, without trying to cover it up or get rid of it, the sooner we can find peace. Inner peace.

What do you think? Is it possible to let things be? What are you holding onto that you could allow to just simply be? Leave a comment below to start the conversation.