A Prayer for Letting Go

Dear God,

I’ve forgotten who I am.

And this is why I cling.

I cling to my stuff.

I cling to my emotions.

I cling to my pride.

It hurts to cling but clinging is all I’ve come to know. I’ve long forgotten what it’s like to just let go and enjoy the ride.

The sense of anxiety all this clinging creates is almost too much to bear. How many things can I cling to at once? I am like the dog in Aesop’s fable—relinquishing my bones to chase after the shadows.

How is it even possible to cling to things that are not real? Yet somehow I manage to do it. I cling to the labels I’ve given myself or others have given me. I cling to past hurts like they were badges of honor. And most of all, I cling to my own ways of thinking.

And so the shadows which promise greener grass haunt and taunt me. 

There seems to be no escape. 

I’ve made all the things I cling to part of my identity. But do those things define who I am?

Who am I really? I am the one who is able to let go of my self-imposed identity. And in that identity, I can let go of who I am not.

I am not my feelings.

I am not my mistakes.

I am not my possessions.

I am not my social media profile.

I am not my reputation.

I am not my intellect

I am.

And if that’s enough for you, then it’s enough for me.

Amen.