When Life Asks Us to Let Go

There are seasons when life quietly (or sometimes not so quietly) reminds us: it’s time to release. Learning the art of surrender helps us soften our grip and trust that life can carry us forward.

A job shift, the closing of a chapter, or a change we didn’t see coming can feel like standing on the edge of something unknown.

We may want to cling, to control, to hold everything together, but there is a deep wisdom in surrender.

Surrender isn’t about giving up.

It’s about loosening our grip long enough to notice that life is still holding us.

"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring."

The Art of Surrender

Letting go is not easy.

Our culture tells us to push harder, plan more, and force outcomes.

But there is a gentler way.

When we surrender, we aren’t saying “I don’t care.”

We’re saying, “I trust that I don’t have to carry this all by myself.”

Surrender is the soft exhale after the long-held breath. It’s the moment we unclench our fists and discover that the world doesn’t fall apart; instead, it opens.

Signs Along the Way

Sometimes, in the midst of these shifts, we’re given little signs.

Not as proof, but as reminders that we are not moving alone.

Recently, during a personal transition, I looked up to see a bald eagle perched nearby.

In ten years of living here, I’d only seen it once.

And yet, on this particular day of endings and beginnings, there it was again, still, powerful, watching.

Then, as if on cue, it lifted from the branch, circled above me, and moved through the sky with quiet authority.

To me, it felt like a message: even when life asks us to release, we’re being invited to rise.

The eagle became a symbol of perspective, strength, and freedom. It was as if the universe whispered, "You are safe to trust the larger view."

Trusting the Process

When we’re in the middle of change, we may not see the whole picture.

But we don’t need to.

Trusting the process doesn’t mean we know where every step will land; it means we believe the ground will meet us as we move forward.

The signs, whether an eagle in the sky, a number sequence that speaks to us, or a quiet feeling in the heart, are not about predicting the future.

They’re about reassuring us that we’re already being guided.

An Invitation

If you’re navigating your own season of letting go, consider this your reminder: surrender doesn’t mean weakness.

It means trust.

It means opening your hands so something new can be placed there.

And perhaps, if you pause long enough, you’ll notice your own signs along the way, small messengers reminding you that even in the release, you are being carried.

A Gentle Companion for the Stormy Days

If you’d like a gentle companion for the stormy days, explore my printable journal, You Are Not the Storm — with prompts, affirmations, and a calming meditation to guide you back to calm. 

Find Your Calm