The Joy of Letting Go

One of the reasons I write these reflections not just to share insights but as a medicine for my own soul, and a reminder to myself.

Recently, I was involved in a transaction at work where I felt the other party was taking advantage and making unreasonable demands. As a result, I felt the deal was getting jeopardized.

For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t understand how people make unreasonable demands. And I was so attached to the outcome of the transaction that I didn’t want to let go.

Isn’t it ironic? - the very things society tells us will bring happiness often bring the most stress. The more I accumulate, the more I worry about losing it or not getting the outcome I expect.

Whenever I get stressed with “owning” things I remind myself, whatever I think I own, I don’t really own. It is merely entrusted to me by God for a limited time.

This perspective isn’t about giving up on having things. Instead, it was a shift in seeing everything I "owned" as part of a larger flow, a trust handed to me for a time.

My house, my car, even my bank account, weren't really mine. They were responsibilities given to me, to see what I would do with them.

Would I use them wisely?

Would I share generously?

This is what the below Sufi Comic is about:

Art by Charbak Dipta

“And know that your wealth and your children are only a test…” (Quran 8:28)

I try to live my life as a steward of whatever comes into my care. I ask myself how I can use these "possessions" to improve the world around me and use them with responsibility.

It's not always easy, and I sometimes fall back into old patterns of thinking. But when I remember to view everything as a trust, I find myself living more freely, with a heart more open.

The lesson for me was simple yet profound: hold lightly to what you have, because it's not really yours.

Enjoy it, use it well, and when the time comes to let it go, do so with grace.