Let go

December 5 – Let go. 
What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?
(Author: Alice Bradley)


Assumptions. That's right, I've stopped making assumptions. Stopped letting my overly imaginative brain immediately jump to future worst-case-scenario options and instead have endeavored to live in the moment.
While I am able sum this change up rather succinctly, I cannot begin to express how that this new way of thinking has lifted a very real cloak of anxiety from my shoulders.
For example, as trivial as it may sound, my particularly vocal feline, Pickle (pictured below) likes to "sing" in the early morning (I'm sure translated into English his so called singing would go something along the lines of: "Mummy/Daddy, get out of bed and feed me!"). Some of his *ahem* vocalisation occurs close to our front door - the one that leads into a communal foyer. For over a year, I remained what can only be described as paranoid that our neighbours would be in some way offended by the noise. Logically, this was a ridiculous assumption to make. Our walls are double brick and despite having Pavarotti-esque lung power, a cat can really only be so loud. Moreover, how many people would actually complain should they hear the occasional cat meowing when passing through a foyer? Irrespective of the rational side of my brain telling me I was crazy, I was nonetheless certain a resident was going to complain. The stress agitated me to the point that I had considered a number of contingency plans should grievances arise.
Early 2010 brought with it the realisation that this sort level anticipation was doing me no good at all. While I understand that some sort of realistic approach to planning for the future is required in life, there is no point agonising about the future and the myriad of directions in which it may take us. Anything can happen. Let go of assumptions and enjoy the moment!