I was reading this interview today that Oprah did with Paulo Coelho, the author. It struck a deep chord with me. Not only because I love this writer’s works, but he spoke so casually in this interview in words that jumped out at me. He spoke of not just “following your dreams” but of the belief that we are all here with a “purpose”. We may not know what that purpose is just yet, and it may take a while to discover it, in fact he even speaks the scary truth that some of us may never find our purpose (nooooo!). He conveys that we all have a purpose here and if we just “fight the good fight” and continue on in the direction we feel pulled (not pushed) that we will discover ourselves. He says that we must persevere, never accept no, create our own destiny and, at the same time, let go. I have been working on my share of “letting go”. While many of his words ring true in an ideal world, I do get discouraged. I do wonder where this is all going in the end. I do think (sometimes in a quiet corner of my mind) about giving it all up and just living an easy, quiet life. When the tests come, when the stress rears its head, when the boundaries are being crossed again and again I often find myself wondering why I’m doing this. And then I sit and breathe. I try to work on the fine art of how to “let go”. Letting go is the hardest thing, I think. We can “fight the good fight”, persevere, never give in, put in the sweat and the heart….and so on. But, as of late, I honestly find the “letting go” part to be the absolute hardest. When building a dream, we want to build and build and never let up. If we stop to breathe, we might possibly remember that, while we have power, we are not necessarily “in charge” and we have to let go to let our purpose be. I am reminded of a quote that has taken me through some challenging times, “Don’t try to force anything. Let life be a deep let go. See millions of flower buds opening every day without the forcing of a single bud”. It is easy sometimes to sit here in the evenings and wax poetic and positive. Yes. That’s how I process. It is absolutely the hardest thing that I have yet to face in my time on Earth to understand how to “let go” and let my purpose be. I am reminded of something Mitch Albom wrote in “Tuesdays with Morrie”….”Don’t let go too soon, but don’t hang on too long”. It is so hard to find that balance between going for your dream and letting go at the same time. A combination of both somehow must be the answer. The equation to get to that answer? That’s the million dollar question my friends.