6/13/14—Letting Go With Sparky & Goddess

Today's post is a guest blog from Sparky & Goddess. I'll be back with Monday's post on Sunday evening. Speaking of Letting Go and Monday, please join me and the other two muses as the 3 Muses discuss letting go on Blog Talk Radio. The program airs at 11:30am eastern, but if you can't make it live, you can listen later via Blog Talk or podcast. Now on to today's guest post...

The Sparky & Goddess Chronicles
ON LETTING GO 

Part 1

Goddess and I have what most would call unconventional, independent careers.  We both formed our own practices and each of us works directly with clients in matters of personal and professional development.  And while our specific areas of expertise differ, we’ve discovered a lot of commonality.  For two fiercely independent, self-employed practitioners, we’re often delighted to find new similarities with our practices, approaches and day-to-day work experiences. 

For example, both of our practices are rooted in acknowledging what’s happening now, as in whatever is arising for our clients in the moment.  We both adapt and attend to whatever shows up, which allows each meeting to be spontaneous, unique, and never strictly scripted.  We both use intuition and honor clear boundaries which permits our clients to use curiosity and exploration in a safe, courageous space.  Our clients seem to be attracted to us for who we are, as much as for what we know.  And our clients tend to show up with topics that often take us to the ‘hot issues’ within our own lives.  Goddess expresses this predicate neatly with the saying, “We teach what we most need to learn.”    

Recently, the two of us began talking about merging our work interests by conducting a Tele-summit: an online-conference event featuring an array of experts with talks and interviews over a 30 day time period.  By sponsoring such an event, we intend to expand our online outreach, offer a valuable public service and deepen our own expertise around a specific topic.  When our planning turned to what that topic might be, Goddess first invited my input.  I think I must have revealed surprise and she read that ‘deer in the headlights’ sensation that kicked in with the invitation.  She graciously rescued me by offering to go first and I quickly accepted.  “Letting go,” she announced. Then she turned, fixed eye contact and repeated, “Letting go!  Letting go is the issue that other people; friends, family, and clients – nearly everyone I know seems to be wrestling with!”, she declared. 

“Letting go,” I repeated, still a deer in her headlight eyes.  Then it came out again, this time as, “Letting go?”  It was a question, only it wasn’t to anyone in particular.  What was it about this clear, simple, even profound statement that I couldn’t wrap my head around?  Had I heard the term too many times?  As in too much Letting go?   Or maybe I wasn’t sure if there was enough information in just, letting go?  Letting go of what?  “Hmmm... I need a little time with this,” I said.  She said fine and seemed unattached and happy to oblige.

After a few days with it, I eventually came around to, “Well, why not?  Why not, Letting go?” I mouthed the last two words aloud.  I certainly trusted and respected Goddess’ instincts around such matters.  And I guess most of us, when we’re feeling stuck, begin to recognize that we’re hanging on and need to let go of something, right?  Then it hit me... Yes, I’m letting go, now!  Why, thank you, Captain Obvious!  There it was - I’d just let go of something to be free to embrace, Letting go! 

That was my first of many such aha moments in this recent dance with letting go.  And of course, I’m not the only one.  Goddess had seen this coming long ago and invited it, head-on, by suggesting it as our Tele-summit topic.  Letting go.  “We teach what we most need to learn.”

Recently, we’ve been talking about some of the specific things that require letting go of and I’ve noticed this is where it gets a bit tricky.  It bears mentioning here that our plans, even now, are blending into a confluence of currents that Goddess and I had already been forming well before we’d met.  In fact, we both have charted courses for going solo and we’ve been amazed at how including each other adds to or complements our original planning.  So far the only monkey-wrenches we’ve thrown at one another have been more like tools than obstructions, and that’s just added more ease to our relationship.

That said, we’ve all got unique circumstances, situations and roles, all of which may require attention when significant changes are coming.  Letting go often comes in bunches and that’s what Goddess is facing now.  We’re talking the biggies like home, family, career and social life.  Even when you’re as self-aware and unattached as Goddess, it’s easy to get lost in details about the future impact of changes and consequences and it can become just plain overwhelming at times. 

That’s where we were the other night as we lay in bed and Goddess was recounting her revised list of letting go’s.  It was becoming clear to us that letting go’s can start to pile up just like any other to-do list, except these are more like to-don’ts!  And how do you wrap your brain around that?  The process began to raise even more questions and we thought we’d like to share these with you, as inquiries.  For example:

Why let go at all?  

What’s it like to hang on?

What’s it really like to let go?

What’s just one thing that you’d like to let go of now?

We realized that this has become such a big topic for us, we want to explore it over several parts and ask you to join us, as we dive into these inquiries together in On Letting Go Part 2.