Just cut it loose!

“Darkness on the edge of town” (Bruce Springsteen):

“… 

Everybody’s got a secret Sonny

Something that they just can’t face

Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it

They carry it with them every step that they take

Till some day they just cut it loose

Cut it loose or let it drag ’em down

…“

The biggest fear I have now is of going back to the loneliness and seasonal fog where I live in California. 

But after a moment’s thought, I realize that this is the same fear I had a month or two ago, when I was looking at the summer I had ahead of me — at least, the loneliness part. That fear of a lonely summer really motivated me to seek solutions — which I found, even exceeding my own expectations, partly thanks to my initiative and greatly thanks to the wonderful persons I’ve met and been with in the past three weeks. 

So now, I can use my current fear in a similar, motivating way. I cannot change the seasonal fog where I live in California, but I can drive to nearby places with better summer weather almost daily even when I’m back. And the loneliness part I can definitely do something about: by keeping up this rediscovered momentum to reach out to people; by maintaining the openness of heart and mind that I’ve had in the past three weeks; by participating in fun group activities similar to those I’ve found here in Colorado; by avoiding to go back into some old routines of my own. 

I’ve done it so many times before… I can do this once again! 

So as I have been doing with other burdens on my heart, I won’t let this fear drag me down: just cut it loose!