Let go in 2021 and find your new adventure

In the wee hours, 2021 quietly landed, full of promise and new adventures. Watching the ball drop while dogs and husband slept (snored), I let go of the old while embracing the new, thankful for another year.

The rollercoaster that was 2020 brought with it changes and lessons, sometimes with dizzying twists and turns. The lesson for me wasn’t the outcome so much as it was navigating the twists and turns.

Change is hard. For me, there is comfort in routine, in a solid plan with a back-up plan reinforced by another back-up plan, and another one more plan tucked in for good measure.

All is good until a monkey wrench wrecks the plan. Then what? We can either stand in the rubble sifting through the leftover bits and pieces, or we can take a breath and build something new. That’s where the real lesson, the real choice, lives.

There’s a story that makes the internet rounds every so often. A little girl had a toy pearl necklace. She loved those plastic pearls.

Her father, wanting to surprise her, bought a real set of pearls. Every night before tucking her into bed, he would ask if she loved him, and she said that she did. And then, he’d ask her if she’d give him her pearl necklace. She’d tell him no, and would offer up another favorite possession of hers, a doll, a stuffed animal, anything but the toy pearls. Every night, he’d tell her it was OK, and kiss her goodnight.

Finally one night, when her father tucked her into bed, the little girl gave him the toy pearl necklace. Her father smiled, took the plastic pearls from her and then placed a real pearl necklace in her hands.

Her father had been waiting for her to let go of the toy necklace before giving her the real pearl necklace.

How many times do we focus on the original plan, or something we’ve lost, or a change we’d never choose to make rather than what we could experience if we just let go of those expectations and embrace the new?

It is hard to let go of what we thought would be or what we’ve worked so hard for; it’s harder still to realize that perhaps we were never meant for that in the first place. Ouch. And just like the little girl and her toy pearls, we grieve what we think we’re giving up, just for a moment, to clear the path for what is meant for us. And therein lies the adventure.

Going into 2021, I have no regrets. I met the challenges of the past year, probably channeling The Dad at times (minus the swearing), and that’s good. I’m OK with my choices. I let go of things that weren’t meant for me or were outside of my control.

Sad? A little. But, in letting go, I am free to find what was meant for me all along. A new adventure awaits.

Patti Dobson writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact her at:

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