letting go.. a lesson learned

last weekend, i saw the beach for the first time this year. i went with some friends from the office on a road trip. one of our stops was bantayan island. i'm almost a year and three decades old, but i've never been to this famous island of my beloved cebu. a big shame really and what a big thing i've missed out. anyway, the road trip was memorable as always. what struck me most though was the simple lesson on letting go - something i learned while on the island. see, i love the beach. but i'm no swimmer. i don't even know how to float on water. the lack of swimming no-how could be attributed to not having swimming lessons while i was younger nor the daring to really learn how to swim. but the primary reason for this lack of swimming skill is the fear of the water itself. the fear that i might drown. the simple fear of the water getting in my ears. thus, every time i'm anywhere near the beach, i only contented myself to just staying and sitting at the shallow end of the water. i don't ever venture out to the deep part even when all the fun and everyone are there. no prodding could get me to where the fun is. well, i'm a scaredy-cat that way. but last weekend, i made the decision to let go of the fear - to just take in all the saltwater my eyes, ears, and lungs could endure. i was dead set on not getting out of the water until i know how to float. after several attempts and taking in much saltwater in my system, I DID IT! it was a small feat, but it was a big achievement for me. it might even be a one time deal, but i savored the moment just the same.

letting go. that was what did it for me. the past few days i've been trying to teach myself this concept. with what happened over the weekend, i'm now more convinced that sometimes in life, one only needs to let go in order to achieve the wondrous things life can offer. that difficult as one might think letting go is, it's actually something that can be done. one only needs to take that first crucial step: DECIDE. letting go will follow quite naturally, in fact.