If you love it, set it free...

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It is a proverb: “If you love something set it free; if it returns its yours forever, if not it was never meant to be.” And, with a slight variation a quote attributed to the author Richard Bach: “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were.”

The principle is that holding on is something that is done by mutual agreement. No matter how much you love it, both sides need to fee the same way, or else it is not going to work. It is easy to see how this can play out in relationships ~ not just partner relationships, but also relationships with kids, parents, jobs, etc. They all follow the same principle where holding on too tight eventually will block the growth that comes from moving forward with it.

To me the more interesting perspective is that, as least according to the proverb, this also holds true for things... So how does that work?

From an energy, or even spiritual viewpoint it tells us that if we are holding on too tight to the things we own, no matter how much we love them (cars, houses etc.), we will eventually block our ability to move forward with it.
In a sense it is a similar perspective to the one that says that in order for something new to come into your life, you need to create a space for it to be. So if we are holding on to what we already have and are unwilling to let go of it ~ we are blocking ourselves from moving forward to an even better version of whatever it is we are holding on to.

Whichever way you look at it, it implies that it is a good thing to take stock every once in a while. To really look at the things in your life you are holding on to, and to ask yourself if they are still serving a purpose in your life. To ask yourself if it is still something you desire to have in your life at this point in time, or whether its only reason for still being there is the fact that you just never set it free...

According to the proverb, the reassuring thing is that if you do set it free, if it is truly yours ~ in other words if it does still needs to have a space in your life right now ~ it will return to you and be yours forever!

And maybe if you love it, and set it free ~ it will even come back into your life as a newer, better, brighter version of that which you were holding on to in the first place!
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