Learning to Let Go
This summer I shared how yoga philosophy sneaked into my art practice . Today, I’m sharing two of its teachings and images inspired by them. Simple teachings you most likely heard outside of yoga. But you know how sometimes, hearing something in the right context or just after the right number of times, makes all the difference… Well the way it was presented in yoga philosophy, mixed with the guidance of my yoga teachers, provided that perfect ground for a bit of introspection.
‘‘Aparigraha’’ is a Sanskrit word that can be described as awareness of abundance, fulfillment or non-attachment.
It teaches the importance of letting go of your attachments: to desires, objects, emotions, beliefs, etc. It can incite you to let go of unnecessary clutter and to pose a critical eye on our mass consumerism. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t possess anything. It rather invites you to stop grasping to your possessions, to enjoy objects you own while they are there but without fear of losing them, knowing that abundance is always possible.
Same for beliefs, it makes you aware that they are one of many ways to look at the world. It teaches you to be opened to hear and see different things and to change your views. It tells you to let go of the fear of the unknown, letting go of the fear to lose what you perceive to be yourself if you change some of the things you have been identifying with.
And again same for your emotions: recognizing them, allowing them to be, but also allowing them to move on so they don’t remain stuck inside.
This makes room for more good things in your life and to feeling more fulfilled.
There are many practices that can help you create the space and the opportunity to let go of your attachments, what matters is to find one that works for you. Visualization is used in many practices and Peace Within could make a great visualization in itself. The image came to me while I was thinking about a way to represent letting go of ideas, emotions, objects and memories that do not serve us anymore. It reflects, the peacefulness felt within when we let go of all these attachments with love and thankfulness.
Letting Go was another visual representation of letting go of the past, of emotions stuck inside, of what doesn't serve us anymore. But it’s hard to fully let go of something that still makes you angry or for which you are resentful… So it highlights that, before being able to fully let go, it is important to take time to welcome, celebrate and be thankful for the lessons learned, the growth and all the new opportunities ahead.
Gentleness represents the softness and tenderness of a parent’s embrace, feeling safe to let go of all our struggles. It can also be a reminder that we need to create conditions that are conducive to this release. A time and place that just like a parent’s embrace make us feel safe to let go. And a reminder that sometimes, like a child, adults might need another compassionate human being to help them feel safe and learn to let go.
‘‘Santosha’’ or contentment, being at peace with oneself and others.
It’s recognising that the only power you have is in the actions you take in the present moment. You have no power over the results of these actions in the future and no power over someone else’s actions. Being open to the possibility that things can take unexpected turns allows you to learn from your experiences and grow.
But even more important to me, is that it allows you to choose, in any instant, how you want to feel and act. You can have a negative experience or a deceiving result even if you acted the best you could. You have no power over that outcome, you can’t go back in time or change someone else’s behaviors. But you do have the power to choose to be bitter about it or to feel at peace or even be content about the work you did and the lessons you learned. You have the power to do nothing or to take new actions in the direction you’d now like to follow.
By combining these two teachings you can let go of all that doesn’t serve you anymore and then act in the present moment to keep moving towards what you envision. But with an open heart to whatever might follow: the unexpected, the synchronicities, the challenges and the learnings.
And that is where magic operates!
That is were you can be Connecting with your Roots, connecting with your core self, finding your inner strength, your love, your power to heal from within, to grow and move forward.
That is where you experience Renewed Life. You can see the strength of life that can be renewed when we take time to deeply heal. How from decay, can spring new unexpected life. How from letting go your attachments you open your door to love and allow life to renew itself. It is the strength of life to spread new life, your willingness to leave the past behind, to stop worrying about the future and to heal yourselves in the present moment.
Digging into what letting go can mean in different contexts, challenged some of my perceptions and opened new doors. The concepts of letting go of our attachments and being content give keys to unlock our potential for growth, healing, joy, and peace. It can be easier to say then do for sure, but yoga isn’t about perfection, its a journey. And on our learning path, once we are aware of something, with practice, we can always get better at it.
Knowing these teachings inspired me, this is how I tend to describe these images. But their creation was not so linear! I had the intention of inserting some of my reflections and learnings in the paintings, but the images came in a much more intuitive and spontaneous way. And the more people give me their own interpretations of these, the more my own view expands beyond my first intentions. That is what I love about art: how it represents something different for everyone based on their own experiences.
So what do these paintings evoke to you? Do they inspire you to let go of something?