By BRIDGET MENEZES
SOME time ago, my topic of “Learning to let go” was published in a women’s magazine. One of the readers wrote back saying that she had benefitted from the article.
The story goes: She was a housewife with two toddlers aged four and three. Her parents-in-law pampered her eldest daughter and took her home with them frequently. As a result, her daughter had become quite spoilt.
There were two instances where her mother-in-law totally disregarded her and just took her grand-daughter out with her. She had spoken to her sister and close friends but concluded that she would just have to deal with it herself. She was contemplating on putting an end to her mental torture as she was heading for a dead end. She chose instead to find a “new road” and divert her attention elsewhere.
So, she began to fill her time by helping her sister with her business, freelancing, doing handicrafts and selling them at flea markets. Soon she herself began sending her daughter to her mother-in-law, convinced that her in-laws were not spoiling her daughter, but merely showering her with love.
A month after she started to “let go”, she discovered that she was happier and the hatred and anger had lessened. Most of all, her eldest daughter was no longer caught in the middle and was free from pressure.
Thinking back, she was glad she had acquired this new skill in life. Otherwise, she might have died of grief.
She said “Letting Go” was not about giving up, rather more of opening opportunities for the self.
Bridget Menezes is the author of Second Edition of Self-Empowerment and Spiritual Counsellor. Email her at lifestyle.bridget @thesundaily.com.
