When to Love, When to Let Go

By Rachel Burt

Edited by Therese Mulgrew 

How true is the phrase:

"If you love someone, let them go?"

I can't stop the tears falling from my eyes when I witness the letting go of true love. We watch all sorts of tragic movie endings in which one character is forced to "let go" the one they love for a better future. I always contemplated what I would do if that situation were to happen to me. Is it fair to have to let someone go? I am a true believer in love, the raw and organic kind, pure and innocent, and everlasting. I believe once you find this feeling, there is no reason to have to "let it all go." We are not butterflies, we are human beings with a heart, soul, and mind and what the heart wants, the heart wants. 

Me (corner right)

This is how I let go: 

I let go in those moments when I lose myself in the music and my body gets lost with me.

I let go when I laugh the kind of laugh that leaves me crying, falling to the floor, and gasping for air.

I let go every time I allow myself to feel deeply, without holding back anything.

Me (corner right)

A Message in a Bottle...

I remember once you told me you wouldn't let me go, even if I wanted it to be over, you weren't letting that happen.

I guess letting go is changing who I am. Changing the cycle of events that have been circling around us.

But I cannot say I’m ready to give it all up. To me, letting go is being honest with myself and to those who I love deeply, unconditionally, and forever.

I don't just hope the best for you. I hope the world for you. I hope you smile and laugh and feel just as deeply as you always have. I hope you are true to yourself and the people around you. I hope your dreams are as big as the moon so that they light up the whole sky. I hope you see the beauty of the world in each moment. 

And in the end, if you do change your mind, no matter when or where you and I are in the world, I hope you come find me.