The Freedom of Letting Go

Choosing to grow deeper rather than larger.

The Freedom of Letting Go
Hand of God and Adam, from The Creation, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Rome, Michelangelo, painted from 1508–1512. Michelangelo, CC BY 2.0

We are raised to tether our identity to what we accumulate—possessions, accomplishments, status, power.

But life’s accidents, illnesses, and the slow gravity of age pry our fingers loose. They strip away the symbols we cling to, one by one, until only the self remains. And in that exposed place, some finally discover the person abundance had kept hidden.