The fear of exploring new shores, by Alonso Inostrosa Psijas

The attachments we form throughout our lives are hard to sever. Some we must keep, some we must let go of, but try as we might we can’t, at least emotionally. Letting go of someone is loss, and loss is one of the most difficult tasks our brain doesn’t seem very well equipped to handle. 

Letting go is a bit like losing a part of ourselves, leaving a coast to reach an unknown other. And the unknown is the cause of much fear and anxiety. We know we must let go, and hope to do so over night. But those attachments have become a part of who we are, part of our identity. In a way, all relationships shape us. Without them we may feel lost and disoriented.

But we can’t move ahead if we stay stuck in the shores we know so well. Some coasts have served their purpose and no longer do us any good. We must first lose our fear of the unknown and learn to live without so we can welcome the new. Like water, we must flow, keep moving on, ahead. We can’t stay locked up in the past, we have to let go.

Fear doesn’t allow us to let go. We fear we will lose part of ourselves, that we won’t ever feel the same way, as if we’d really want to, but it’s known territory and it’s easier to deal with than the old known, no matter how bad it may be for us.

So lose the fear and then let go. Slowly, become acquainted with what you fear, face it, examine it. Once you know your enemy it loses power over you.  Then you’ll be free to move on and let go.