Sometimes You Have to Detach Yourself from Everything: “Letting It All Go” Part II

Photo: Annihilated landscape view from train window. Fort William, Scotland (2021). Copyright SJPhotography

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Sometimes You Have to Detach Yourself from Everything: “Letting It All Go” Part II

In last week’s HeartBalm Healing episode I wrote about “Making Space for Yourself: Letting It All Go.” This message came as a morning download, days before its release. I am always grateful for insights that align with my healing journey and allow me to share them with you. It is a beautiful unfolding – a snapshot of something that has been percolating within me – how it is being processed, digested, and ready for more understanding, transformation, completion, or release.

But just days after its launch, I stumbled upon another writing that I had done on the same subject. It carried a similar theme, but with a sharper edge, hitting right at the heart of the struggle of “letting it all go.” It is not uncommon to feel squarely pinned in the crosshairs of a difficult time and words come through with precision, cutting into what is arising with authenticity and truth. It could be why I wrote it so quickly, then put it away and forgot about it – as it was a bit scary at the time, and revealed deep feelings of frustration, fear, and anger. It is a powerful experience – one that can be beautiful but also overwhelming, even terrifying as it feels too much to bear.

Yet, it feels important nay essential to continue with this theme of letting go, especially now, as we face unimaginable times, global uncertainties, and the ongoing call to heal and find common ground with one another.

Sometimes, you have to detach yourself from everything – give up hope, and see that you are helpless in the grand scheme of things. As I sat with these heavy realizations, I began to see a deeper truth emerge. It is not just about letting go of individual pieces of our past or accumulated baggage – it is about confronting the sheer meaninglessness that underlies everything we hold onto. This reminded me of something Richard Sylvester once wrote in his book, “I Hope You Die Soon.” He offers a stark, almost startling perspective: if we were to choose a mantra for life, it might be “meaningless, hopeless, helpless.”

Richard writes that the “death” referred to in the title is not literal but symbolic. He explains,

I Hope You Die Soon is a term of endearment because the death it refers to is the death of the illusion of separation, the death of suffering. To wish for this death is to wish for the peace and freedom that comes with realizing there is no separate self.

_Richard Sylvester, “I Hope You Die Soon”