Release

How do you feel when your expectations do not align with reality? It’s really hard, right? My partners andI have this expectation of our Broadway industry dance party, S.N.O.B., that each event will be different but fit inside a similar structure. We have a few early birds, then when the food hall next door closes, we take down the velvet ropes and begin to push the party into the whole space. By 10.30, the place is packed and the dance floor is grooving. We know what it looks like.

While our January edition was once again lit, the energy this time was really different than any of our previous events. At first, it didn’t really feel like S.N.O.B., but once my incredible DJ partners Duggz and Ari Grooves decided to play music for themselves rather than the room, we were back to feeling it! All it took was a reminder to release whatever the crowd thought of the music, and do it for the love (also the title of my favorite Michael Franti & Spearhead song - so good!).

Release is something that I’ve been working on for a while, but especially at the top of the New Year. We have so much social pressure for resolutions, but what I’ve been discovering is that letting go without attachment is the most powerful way to create space for that which is truly yours. I’m speaking from experience with someone who I had invested a lot into, which didn’t turn out the way I had expected (I’m looking at it like I bought a bad stock on the market. You don’t sell Nike if it crashes from $600 to $0.06, you hang tight and wait for it to turn around). At first, I was incredibly hurt by this person’s actions (remember the massive emotions?), but as time and space allowed me perspective, I realized that they weren’t who I thought they were. And that was ok! We had both grown in different ways, and those ways no longer aligned as they once had.

Once the realization set in that it was time to move on, I was unsure how to step into my power in this new version of the relationship. Ultimately, I chose to continue to show up and support around them. The feeling was fantastic! Knowing that I had to continue working on release, I am practicing it in as many aspects of my life as possible. Bad workout? Let it go. Weird interaction on the street? Bye. Not being able to afford to go to my dear friend’s wedding? Still working that one out…

The point is that when we release without attachment, we cannot fathom the beauty that can fill the space we’ve made available. I recently went to a breathwork session and this was the exact purpose - releasing the things that we do not need, and allowing us to hold the capacity for the new. It was a fabulous practice, and I can’t wait to see what else I let go of this year. Cheers to practicing release without attachment in 2020!