Let Go of the Bone

My father once made the observation of the dog who continues to chew on the old bone, on and on, refusing to ever let it go. Recently, I've been chewing on a bone and refusing to let it go. There's not much to that bone, now -- I've gnawed it into meal and then proceeded to work on my teeth. Not a good idea.

The issue I'm working is far less interesting than the concept of letting go. You can plug in your own problem, which would be the one locked into your mind that you refuse to release. The same problem that keeps you awake at night. The same problem that inhibits you from doing other useful things. The same problem that exists in a place between you and your happiness. Yes, that problem.

For the sake of sanity (and my teeth) I found several ways to release this problem. The first was to preoccupy my mind working on a task. My choice was to make a music mix for a friend, scouring my collection, putting the mix together with careful and thoughtful arrangement of ths songs. Focusing on doing something nice for someone else is a great way to move on.

There is also Yoga, which is a consistent way to allow your mind to break out of an endless loop. The focus on breathing followed by the active integration of movement serves as a great release. By the way, anytime you're just not feeling right about whatever, take the 10 minutes to just sit and breathe deeply.

And, another great release is writing to this blog. It's always helpful to put into writing the things that are important to us.

Finally, reading this blog to see how I dealt with things in the past. I found a posting where I convinced myself that I should only spend time working on a problem when I am in the context to deal with it, which may include other people with whom I need to interact. It makes no sense to work the endless loop when you're not in a position to influence the outcome.

Along with these ways to let go of the bone, there is always just opening your mouth, dropping to bone, turning away and sniff around for something more interesting. I don't think my Dad observed the next steps the dog took. However, I do think he'd go along with my plan.