Saturday, April 5, 2008
The Art of Letting Go
This album is one of my all time favorite collections to date. It carries the following beautiful, yet heart-breaking songs:
Tattoed On My Mind (D’Sound), Stranded (Jennifer Paige), I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me (Expose), Without Me (Clair Marlo), Separate Lives (Stephen Bishop), The Art of Letting Go (Mikaila), The Day You Went Away (Wendy Matthews), Stay (Lisa Loeb), Out of Reach (Gabrielle), In This Life (Ronan Keating), Until I get Over You (Christina Milan), One Last Cry (Brian McKnight), Insensitive (Jann Arden), You’re In Love (Wilson Philips), Seasons of Loneliness (Boyz II Men), Steep (Lauren Christy).
Let me pitch in my other personal favorites- Half Crazy (Freestyle), In Another Lifetime (Gary Valenciano) and Alone Again, Naturally (Vonda Shepard), that are also related to the above genre, to complete the list.
I play it over and over again like crazy, in full volume. Yeah, that’s the OC (Obsessive Compulsive) side of me taking over my saner and more tamed persona.
Whenever I feel sentimental (like today, the day before that… oh, everyday?) I just listen to these songs and almost instantly, I’m teleported into memory lane. Um, maybe not teleported really (that’s too “Jumper”-ish), but more in the context of being brought back to relive and savor past memories- happy, sweet, bitter, sour, pungent… well, you get the idea.
The Art of Letting Go. Catchy title, huh?
It got me into thinking, how does one let go? How does one move on? How can one tell he/she has really moved on? When does one say, enough! Cut the drama and carry on?
Have you tried asking yourself these questions? Is there still anger welling up inside of you? Do you still feel that familiar knot in your throat which makes you want to cry? Do you weep for no particular reason at all? Is your heart already numb, cold and unaffected?
While people relentlessly search for answers, turning to expensive relationship gurus for advice and comfort, reading a dime a dozen self help books that can only do so much, these questions still remain open-ended without perfect rationalization.
So while we continue to seek for the answers, in the meantime, we can listen to the songs. That’s actually the art in it. These songs make letting go easier or harder depending on how it affects the listeners.
After having gone through a painful stage, who in his/her right mind would want to listen to break up/letting go songs? You may ask. It’s like rubbing salt and squeezing lemon juice over a fresh wound. So indescribably painful.
But it happens all the time.
So why do people go through the unnecessary torture? I believe it's part of the whole emotional healing process. Only when we rid ourselves of emotional baggage that we feel lighter and less burdened. Everyone has to go through the act of unloading hurt, pain, disappointment, and frustration at some point. And what better way to ignite it, than to listen to songs that tell your story like it was tailor-made just for you.
Let yourself wallow in pain. Savor it! Count your teardrops. Cry a river, if you must. Remember, this too, shall pass. Eventually, after going through the denial, anger, bargaining and depression stages, comes acceptance. The sunshine after the rain. The gold pot at the end of the rainbow.
You are free. Free to live your life again to the fullest. Only now, better, wiser, stronger and more resilient.
And when you listen again to the songs, you will appreciate them through the ears of a music enthusiast. They will still touch your feelings; there will still be memories, yes, and a whole lot of it. But this time, without the pain.
That’s when you can say you have finally let go.
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6 showed some lovin':
I recognize some songs...too bad, I am not updated about music nowadays lol. But I love karaoke! lol.
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I will not ask you why though I feel you on this particular post. I am still married but I give up on the things that I cry about, in a sense I've let go of my expectations...which is another interpretation hehe.
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I finally learned the trick with the viral tagging, you copy it from the post and paste it on your compose mode not html, so the links don't get lost lol...I joined another tag, if you like i posted it at http://trainshots.blogspot.com, this actually is a free to join linking like Mommy Ruby's, and its huge! Have a nice weekend!
Thanks for dropping the 1st comment on this post. :)
I just felt like writing about it. I knew I had to write something about it. I'm crazy about the songs and my ears are ringing at this point. Lol!
Anyways, good that you've learned the trick of viral tagging. It doesn't work for me though. I paste it in compose mode and yet the links don't follow. I just copy it from the page source.
I still have to grab the book tag you have for me. Will be posting it today, hopefully. I'll check the other tag as well. Thanks for the visit and have a great weekend too! :)
My approach is almost always simplistic: let go and move on. Easier said than done huh. But with sheer determination, I know, it can be done.
People come and go in our lives -that's a fact. However painful that reality is, we have to learn to accept it then move on. There's no other way.
BTW, love those songs. ^^, Yeah, with a couple (cases ^___^) of beers, you're back where all the heart aches begun (*sobs).
Nice post kcee. ^^,
Cheers!
Hi Ronnie, thanks for a valuable input coming from a male point of view.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that it is easier for men to let go and move on. Or probably, you guys just carry it very well, that's why you can go back to your normal life as if you are not grieving on the inside. True?
And yeah, we have no choice but to accept reality and move on. Everyone does. Eventually, everyone has to.
I'd go for some tequila and vodka ice though, so I can do the singing while you finish the beers. :D
Oh. Pardon me, you're not quite right there. We hide our emotions. And so it seems we can easily cope.
Whenever those painful memories pinch, sometimes unexpectedly, we still groan in agony. Who doesn't? When we invite a person in our heart, he/she takes a part of it when he/she leaves. And that reality really bites.
Remember the song "I'll never get Over You (Getting Over Me)"?
While it's quite a relief to know that guys go through the same ordeal, I think the difference then would be the effect that manifests more on women, than in men . You know, sleepless nights, bulging eyes and eyebags galore, sick/vacation leave, impulsive shopping, food bingeing, 100 text messages every hour sent to all... and more.
A lot of women wish they can handle heartbreaks too, like a man. But being a woman, it is very hard and almost impossible not to show.
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