My sister once told me a story about a little girl who has a lot of toys and knick knacks that she loves. Among all her possessions, there is one that she prized above the rest; a pearl bracelet. Granted it was made of faux pearls but it didn't matter to her. It was precious all the same.
One day her father said to her,"I have something for you my dear. It's very special. But in order for me to give it to you, you will have to give me your pearl bracelet in exchange". The girl was initially excited about the gift until she knew that she would have part with her pearl bracelet in order to get it. Oh, how she longed for the gift from her father! But how on earth could she part with her precious bracelet?
She tried negotiating with her father. She would give him her best teddy bear in exchange. Her father smiled but declined gently. The next day she came up with another offer. She would give up her best doll in exchange for the gift. Again, her father declined gently. And so it went on for a week with her offering her father numerous other things in exchange. Each time, her father smiles, declines her offer and insists that it has to be her pearl bracelet. ''I promise that the gift will be worth giving it up for", he said.
By the end of the week the little girl had run out of other things to offer. So with a very heavy heart, she went up to her father and dejectedly handed her most loved possession to him. Her father thanked her and retrieved a box from his pocket. Turns out he had been keeping her gift in his pocket all the while, just waiting for her to surrender her bracelet at any time.
He opened the box and lo and behold, nestled in it's soft satin lining lay the most beautiful pearl bracelet she had ever seen. "The reason why I wanted you to give me your bracelet first is because I want you to have a better bracelet, made with real pearls which you deserve" he said. The little girl exclaimed over the gift and hugged her father while squealing in delight, her faux bracelet which she had been so reluctant to let go, forgotten.
There is a lesson to be learnt here but wait for it... Here is another story which happened to me:
MAC Cosmetics has a program called Back To MAC. It is basically a recycling program where you can claim 1 free lipstick (in Malaysia we can only claim lipsticks but I understand that in the US you can pick between a lipstick, lip gloss or an eye shadow) for every 6 items you've used up and returned to MAC. After a year I had finally scrapped enough empties to claim my free lipstick. I was planning on getting Quietone which I love so much and incidentally, was my first ever MAC lipstick. Unfortunately, it is no longer available.
After trying a few, I was considering the possibility of getting Lustering when I saw my sister trying Peach Blossom on herself. It was the perfect My Lips But Better (MLBB) color for her. I told her that she should get it but she declined. After inspecting Lustering on my lips further in the mirror, I can't help but feel that although I like it, I don't really love it. There is also the fact that I already have a lot of lipsticks anyways, most of which I am not actively using. I considered taking Peach Blossom for my sister but pushed the notion aside. She doesn't wear lipsticks after all.
However, once the thought had come to mind I couldn't seem to shake it off. It was like my gut feeling was telling me to get Peach Blossom for my sister and it was getting insistent with each passing second. A short while later, I decided to follow my instincts. My sister was very happy and posted about it on Facebook. My aunt who is very generous saw my sister's post and decided that I should have a lipstick of my own. I was to pick one from any brand I liked. I ended up choosing Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in 16 Extase which I am sooo happy to get. Much happier that how I would have felt getting Lustering for myself.
Okay, so why on earth am I telling you these stories? Well basically what I am trying to say is that sometimes we spend too much time and effort clutching and holding on (with a death grip) to things that we think we need when in actual fact we don't.
It is not limited to physical things either. Sometimes we hold on to memories, anger and hurt that does nothing for us. It's hard to let go of things, emotions and principles that no longer work for us but I personally have experienced proof that when we do sincerely let go of the unnecessary, we will have more space to receive better things, emotions and state of mind. I plan to let go more in future in shaa Allah and I hope that these stories have inspired you to do the same.
Have you ever had to let go of something you thought you never could and discovered that you were better off without it? Do share your experience in the comments section below.
Love,
Phy
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