It has been said and told a million times that time change is constant or inevitable. As much as it is true and evident, it is one of the hardest things. 

One aspect of change that one must deal with most – and sometimes over and over during the temporary existence – is letting go.

Michael Bolton, one of my most favourite singers, has a song titled, ‘A time for letting go’. 

In this song, there is one profound line. He says there is a time for love and a time for letting go.

So much has also been said to make emphasis – not only to the benefits of letting go but also on how not allowing it to happen can be an obstacle to progress. 

You must have heard of sayings like, if you want to have something you never had, you must do something you have never done – or when one door closes, others open.

When talking about letting go, in most cases, one would think only about themselves – that they would only let go of something or someone if there is a benefit for them. 

However, it is also important to note that letting go should not only be a selfish act. Sometimes, letting go must happen in consideration of others so that one’s existence and gain does not remain or become a loss and an obstacle for another.

When it comes to letting go, there is so much that can be learned from other parts of nature. 

If we, for instance, observe much further, we can learn a lot from trees. 

A tree goes through different changes every season. The tree may look beautiful, with green leaves – and sometimes even flowers, yet there will be a season when it will lose all its leaves. 

During the period when it has no leaves, it may look as if it’s withering and may die, but it is not bothered. Because it knows and understands that this is just a season, and it shall pass.

Yet here, we, humans, consider ourselves the most evolved, civilised and intelligent species but we continue to suffer and struggle because we have made our own rules but oblivious to the laws of nature. 

We do everything to study and understand everything, except for the things that are basic, simple but have great significance over our lives and experiences.

Letting go can be a gift if understood and managed wisely, but it can also be a curse if misunderstood or mismanaged. 

One must also understand that letting go is a process – not an event. 

It may also turn out to be an endless journey because, as we grow, one will go through many changes. 

During these changes, one would have to let go of certain things or people to make way for the new. 

It may also happen that one would even have to learn to let go of the things that may be irreplaceable.

So, it is with this wisdom that we must be aware and understand this – that since change is inevitable, there will come many times when we must let go, voluntary or involuntarily. 

It is in this letting go that we learn acceptance and find understanding for a better life experience.

E-mail: karlsimbumusic@gmail.com

Uncommon Sense is published every Friday in the New Era newspaper with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka