Letting
Go
“There's
an important difference between giving up and letting go.”
Jessica
Hatchigan
People often say, “I
will forgive, but I will not forget.” Right now in America, there
is much that needs to be forgiven, and much that must be forgotten.
What we most need is to let go. Let go of our need to be right, let
go of our deep-seeded prejudices, give up feeling as though we have a
right to land and property and wealth and privilege. As any Native
American will tell you, this country does not belong to anyone. Even
though some of us have been here longer than others, we must remember
that unless we are Native, all our families came here as immigrants.
The earth is not for sale, whether you live in a yurt or a castle,
whether your skin is white or brown or black. Letting go of the
notion that we are entitled to dominate, subdue and possess it is
simply wrong.
Deepak Chopra has
written, “In the process of letting go you will lose many things
from the past, but you will find yourself.” There are those
among us who are not mentally stable, and when they hear fear
messages on a daily basis, they may do the unthinkable. We saw that
in several forms last week, and have been experiencing it almost
constantly for many years. We must forgive these unstable people,
but prevent them from acting on their fears again. We must also hold
accountable those who spread fear and support violence for personal
gain. Most importantly, we must recognize that our own desire for
revenge, our own incitement of violence is contributing to the
problem. We may feel the loss of power when we give up our anger, but
we will gain a clearer image of what is needed going forward. Letting
go of our notions of entitlement will help in that effort.
We have much to
forgive—ourselves, each other, our leaders—and much to
forget—white privilege, entitlement, greed, nationalism. Our nation
needs to go through a cleansing process to ground itself and remember
who we are. If we are able to do this, I have hope that we can regain
our footing. We should not give up, but we should most definitely let
go of our sense of superiority.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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