Let Go and Let God - your experience please.
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Originally Posted by Boleo 
To me it means I need to surrender most of my judgement and expectations.
"All expectations are seeds for resentment."
(Lao Tzu - the original Laozi man)
"All expectations are seeds for resentment."
(Lao Tzu - the original Laozi man)
Prior to that it seemed a nonsensical concept and a lot of people who were spouting it in the AA meetings seemed to be using it as a popular slogan rather than anything that reflected their approach to life and recovery. For a while I thought AA was all about inventing catchy sayings.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Letting go of fearful, controlling and ego-driven behaviour and expectations. Letting go of the idea that I need everything to work out as I had things planned.
In an everyday / practical kind of sense, this (for me) means saying my personal prayers / reflection every morning, and turning my will over to God, and asking him to direct my thinking. Using the serenity prayer often. Dealing with resentments as they come up to find what part of my self and which of my defects of character has played a part in things so that I can spot when I am trying to control things to my own end. When I have to make decisions (which I do, at work and in life generally) I try to ask myself what a successful AAer would do; what God would have me do; what the loving thing to do is; and whether my motives are good. Often I catch myself out being selfish in this way, and adjust things so it's not just about myself.
In an everyday / practical kind of sense, this (for me) means saying my personal prayers / reflection every morning, and turning my will over to God, and asking him to direct my thinking. Using the serenity prayer often. Dealing with resentments as they come up to find what part of my self and which of my defects of character has played a part in things so that I can spot when I am trying to control things to my own end. When I have to make decisions (which I do, at work and in life generally) I try to ask myself what a successful AAer would do; what God would have me do; what the loving thing to do is; and whether my motives are good. Often I catch myself out being selfish in this way, and adjust things so it's not just about myself.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: WA
Posts: 891
I had a total "let go let God" moment today. Everyone here is facing retrenchment. I know I have maybe two months. Today I realized that I needed to hand it over and let God take care of the situation. Things always work out. I handed most of my work (that I was hoarding) over to a coworker to give him a better chance of being retained as he was starting to lose it. Now I'm basically letting fate decide whether I stay or go. Im no longer worried about the outcome. Doors open and close, just have to have faith. Knowing this makes me feel good and I know that as long as I surrender everyday in a sincere way and don't fight what I can't control Im on solid ground and I won't drink.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
I worked at a Heat -Treat plant that had been in business 90 years without a single Layoff. I was being groomed to be the next IT manager and thought I had it made... Then boom, The work was moved to Mexico. Plant was closed.
Now I have to work twice as many hours for half the pay and no benefits.
Is my life worse because of it? To an outsider it certainly looks like it. However, on the inside, I have more peace of mind, joy and sense of purpose than ever. Just goes to show you; No pain - No Gain.
Now I have to work twice as many hours for half the pay and no benefits.
Is my life worse because of it? To an outsider it certainly looks like it. However, on the inside, I have more peace of mind, joy and sense of purpose than ever. Just goes to show you; No pain - No Gain.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: De
Posts: 1,333
In the words of the Serenity Prayer, God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Letting go doesn't mean doing nothing, most times it's a lot more work that I want to do which is not easy for a lazy person like myself. It's just doing the right thing.
Letting go doesn't mean doing nothing, most times it's a lot more work that I want to do which is not easy for a lazy person like myself. It's just doing the right thing.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 187
I think it means you have to let go of everything that you are resentful for, or things that are keeping you from achieving your goals, and trust that God will take care of it, and lead you in the right direction.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Bklyn. NY
Posts: 1,859
Letting go and letting god has, and still means different things to me at different times.
I loved this definition.
And what I've learned from my experience is that for me, that doesn't mean I'm going to be instantly at peace. And it doesn't mean I'm going to blindly accept everything that comes my way as "god's will," or, "the way it's supposed to be". It means I will make use of the serenity prayer, do my best to work towards what I believe to be true and right, and THEN leave the outcome to my HP.
I had an excellent experience regarding this last year that I shared about right here. Something happened at my job where I was losing many days work due to an unwarranted resentment someone (who was responsible for giving me work) had with me. Some told me to just accept it, but my serenity prayer told me there were things I could change. Action I needed to take. I did my best to communicate with the person who had issues with me, backed off when it seemed I needed to, and then approached her again after some time had passed. Things are now back to normal, we're friends, I work every day, and I needed to act... not just simply let go and let god.
The ironic part of this is that when September rolled around this year, due to a licensing issue, I completely lost my evening job. Which was 1/2 my income. I invested one day of trying to "fix" that, and it was clear this was meant to be. I didn't like it, I had some fear, some anger, felt like crap... but I trusted nonetheless that this was happening for good reason. The pain of the loss pushed me to explore different options. After a little soul searching and a bunch of awesome "coincidences", I signed up for a graduate program that starts in May, for a new career that is right in line with my beliefs (and what I was actually teaching in that night program). I now know that a new road was being cleared for me.
Should add that on top of all that, even with the loss of my job, I was able to purchase my first brand new car a few months ago (KIA Soul that I love!), and pay for my upcoming schooling. Money that I lost from the evenings came to me in completely unexpected ways. First month, I got teacher's retro pay I wasn't expecting. Next month I sold an instrument for a lot of money that I'd been trying to sell for years - and the person who bought it found out I had what they were looking for through an obscure source. I didn't even have the instrument posted for sale, had given up on it. A whole bunch of things like that kept happening
. Anyhow...
Back on point... Feelings and behaviors for me have to separated. I accept my feelings even when I don't like them. I rely on my HP to guide my feet. If I make a mistake, I usually learn from it. Das all.
I loved this definition.
Originally Posted by Beccybean
Letting go of fearful, controlling and ego-driven behaviour and expectations. Letting go of the idea that I need everything to work out as I had things planned.
I had an excellent experience regarding this last year that I shared about right here. Something happened at my job where I was losing many days work due to an unwarranted resentment someone (who was responsible for giving me work) had with me. Some told me to just accept it, but my serenity prayer told me there were things I could change. Action I needed to take. I did my best to communicate with the person who had issues with me, backed off when it seemed I needed to, and then approached her again after some time had passed. Things are now back to normal, we're friends, I work every day, and I needed to act... not just simply let go and let god.
The ironic part of this is that when September rolled around this year, due to a licensing issue, I completely lost my evening job. Which was 1/2 my income. I invested one day of trying to "fix" that, and it was clear this was meant to be. I didn't like it, I had some fear, some anger, felt like crap... but I trusted nonetheless that this was happening for good reason. The pain of the loss pushed me to explore different options. After a little soul searching and a bunch of awesome "coincidences", I signed up for a graduate program that starts in May, for a new career that is right in line with my beliefs (and what I was actually teaching in that night program). I now know that a new road was being cleared for me.
Should add that on top of all that, even with the loss of my job, I was able to purchase my first brand new car a few months ago (KIA Soul that I love!), and pay for my upcoming schooling. Money that I lost from the evenings came to me in completely unexpected ways. First month, I got teacher's retro pay I wasn't expecting. Next month I sold an instrument for a lot of money that I'd been trying to sell for years - and the person who bought it found out I had what they were looking for through an obscure source. I didn't even have the instrument posted for sale, had given up on it. A whole bunch of things like that kept happening
. Anyhow...Back on point... Feelings and behaviors for me have to separated. I accept my feelings even when I don't like them. I rely on my HP to guide my feet. If I make a mistake, I usually learn from it. Das all.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the central region of China. He didn't have a lot of money and he used an old horse to plow his field.
One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll see, We'll see."
He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift.
Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, "What a poor fellow!"
The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, "What a fortunate man."
The farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."
The farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.
Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man."
The farmer smiled again - and said "We'll see, We'll see."
One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll see, We'll see."
He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift.
Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, "What a poor fellow!"
The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, "What a fortunate man."
The farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."
The farmer said, "We'll see, We'll see."
Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.
Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man."
The farmer smiled again - and said "We'll see, We'll see."
Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 69
Let go of everything. It took me about 2 1/2 years of sobriety before I really started to "get it." Even in recovery I kept trying to force my will on situations and people but I was always left tired, angry, and disappointed. When I let go of everything and do the best I can on a day to day basis life works out much better and I tend to stay in a positive mood.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ct.
Posts: 173
At this point, to me it means staying humble, listening to my conscience and praying for guidance, getting a good night sleep and waking up with a clear mind/reset and just living my life knowing God is ultimately running the show. Oh yeah, and being grateful!
It`s ok to stay sober
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Central NC
Posts: 20,902
when I don`t let go and let God ,you can see me on page 52,the bedevilment's,and step 4,my long inventory....and a very long amends list,step 8
so,letting go and letting God is the easier softer way for me
and some other people
so,letting go and letting God is the easier softer way for me
and some other people
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