Last month I wrote about the blind contour drawings of three objects that represented three things that made our life worthwhile/meaningful. We then used the drawings for an exercise on letting go. Not everyone gave up all their drawings. There were many different reactions to the exercise. In general, people found that it was easier than they thought it would be.
Here are the steps so you can try it on your own:
- Identify three things that made your life worthwhile/meaningful.
- Analyze what these three things mean to you.
- Pick out three objects to represent these three things.
- Imagine you had to give one of these things up — that it would no longer be an active part of your life. Which of the three objects would you give up?
- When you have chosen one, move it away from you.
- Of the two remaining items, can you give up one more? Which one would it be?
- When you have chosen one, move it away from you.
- You have one item left. Can you give that one up too?
It is not important that you be able to give up all three objects. What is important is going through the process and learning about your relationship to these three things.
After the exercise, how do you feel about your three things? Have your feelings about/toward them changed? Has how you relate to them changed? Has what they mean to you changed?
This exercise is not just about learning to let go of the things most important to you, it is also about learning to let go of the fear of losing the things you love — learning to appreciate them without fear creeping into your relationship.
The Stoic philosopher Seneca said, “It is not the man who has little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”
Let me know what you thought of the exercise when you did it.