When I used to let go of old energy, old ideas, old stuff, it all got rather messy.
I didn’t feel good. My body reacted with symptoms of sickness. My mind reacted with emotions like doubt, fear, depression and anxiety. I said things I didn’t mean and then had to clean up the hurt. I made bad decisions and then lived the consequences, sometimes for years.
On a healing journey, a journey of becoming more whole, there’s a lot of letting go. Also on a spiritual journey of discovering your true nature.
So how can we do it more gracefully and with less mess?
The answer I’ve found is simple. It’s to create.
When I create something and share it, my old energy becomes nourishment for someone else. My mess becomes someone else’s compost.
I don’t mean that I go and share my negativity and reactivity. That’s just dumping on others – it doesn’t have a good effect for anyone.
But when I create something new and beautiful or meaningful from the messiness of my own life, I inject energy and liveliness into it and that’s worth sharing.
So I write a blog where I share insight gained from a particularly challenging event in my life and my pain and struggle helps others to handle their own a little better.
I create a new product out of the disappointment of a failed product, and it works better this time around.
I teach others, care for them, create beautiful things for them or cook a delicious meal.
Many people wait until they’re feeling better before they get creative. But if I want to handle the hard times with more ease and grace, being creative in the middle of the mess transforms it instantly into something of more value and makes me feel better at the same time.
I’ve found that the key to this is let go of focusing on how I feel in the moment, which may be horrible, and to focus on doing my project or work really well. There’s resistance at first. It’s easier to indulge in how I’m feeling. But slowly and steadily the power of doing good work and creating more beauty or aliveness in the world takes over.
I end up feeling better and the bonus is that I’ve also created something I can share.
And that last bit is really important. To share it, not hide it away until it’s perfect.