Sometimes you have to Flap Your Wings Before you Can Let Go

“When two ducks get into a fight, it never lasts long – they soon separate and fly off in opposite directions. Each duck then flap its wings vigorously several times.” – Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth)

According to quantum physics everything is energy, which means all interactions and reactions are simply energy transfers. When interactions or situations are left incomplete and there are feelings of angst and/or frustration this can be due to a surplus of energy that needs to be processed, transferred or transmuted. 

Most of the time these lingering feelings and emotions stem from the fact that you had no control over what happened, the event may be in the past or it may have shattered your perception of the future.  You were either not able to fully express your emotions or you have attachments to a future that seems no longer possible.  This means that in the present moment there is no specified point of release, and you’re left with a rather uncomfortable energy festering inside of you with no plans for freeing it appropriately.  This is when some may suggest “just let it go”, and yes I’ve even been one to do so, however; I now realize what makes this so difficult. The energy needs to be acknowledged which means felt not thought and then have its own release. Without this release it will sit and wait until an opportunity arises at which point it can be expressed, leading to shall we say an “over reaction”. 

As I write this I truly hope others have felt the same as myself, maybe you’ve been disappointed by the mortar not showing up AGAIN, and your Valentine’s Day plans of mortaring the hearth have come to a crashing halt (okay maybe not exactly). Now you’re left frustrated and those responsible for your lack of mortar are not around to contact, therefore there’s no discussion to be had, no way to fix the situation and no concrete (ha-ha get it!) way for you to free this energy.  You may try to take a few deep breaths and tell yourself that it’s nothing to get worked up over but that feeling is just sitting in the pit of your stomach begging for release. 

So what do you do, ignoring it (which is a form of resistance) will either bring about a slow discharge like steam from a boiling pot of water or in the future you and those around you will get burned because you’ve failed to address the pot of boiling water. This is where physics comes in:

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another” - First Law of Thermodynamics

In the above example, what started out as excited energy has now been labeled as frustrated energy, and the best way to process it is transforming it into Kinetic Energy. Now ducks will flap their wings after a short encounter to process and transfer the energy, but since you do not have wings another physical action will suffice, like maybe marching yourself into the living room, picking up a throw pillow and beating the couch with it (again just a random example).  When you’ve regained your breath and composure, straighten out your shirt, then you can calmly figure out how to make the most of the rest evening. One release may not be enough, and like putting ice cubes into a boiling pot of water, you may spend the rest of the night cleaning out the pantry (just random examples throughout this week’s blog) until the water has come to room temperature.

Emotions are just thoughts with more energy, and if you transform some of that emotional energy into kinetic energy you can understand the thoughts more clearly and then begin the process of letting go. Some emotions are so supercharged that the idea of rational thought is just not an option, transfer that charge into cleaning, running, screaming into a pillow, walking, doing yard work or playing a sport anything that requires physical energy and does not harm yourself or others.  With this in mind, when you are faced with a situation that leaves you frustrated, hurt or anxious, let yourself feel the emotion without judgement and then find a healthy way to process the energy.

Copyright 2020 Strength & Grace Life Coaching LLC

If you are interested in learning more about energy and emotions I suggest the following books

A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle

Letting Go – David R. Hawkins PhD MD