LET THEM
Recently, I had lunch with a very good friend that I had not seen in awhile. As you all probably have experienced, when you see someone after time has passed, your conversation will cover many different life events and experiences. There was a point in our conversation where I said, “Can we take a pause for a moment?” I had to process what she said to me. She told be about a poem titled, “LET THEM.” Of course I grabbed my phone and googled the poem. I said to her as a Therapist, how have I never heard of this poem before? She shrugged her shoulders and I said to her, “I am now obsessed.” I went home and began to explore “Let Them.” I even went on Amazon and purchased a shirt with the poem on it. Still shaking my head, “How have I never heard this poem before?” I guess I felt a little disappointed in myself for not being aware of such a great Therapeutic Tool. Let’s take a deep dive into “Let Them.”
“LET THEM”
If they want to choose something or someone over you, LET THEM
If they want to go weeks without talking to you, LET THEM
If they are okay with never seeing you, LET THEM
If they are okay with always putting themselves first, LET THEM
If they are showing you who they are and not what you perceived them to be, LET THEM
If they want you to follow the crowd , LET THEM
If they want to judge or misunderstand you, LET THEM
If they act like they can live without you, LET THEM
If they want to walk out of your life and leave,
hold the door open, AND LET THEM
Let them lose you.
You were never theirs, because you were always your own
So let them
Let them show you who they truly are, not tell you.
Let them prove how worthy they are of your time.
Let them make the necessary steps to be a part of your life.
Let them earn your forgiveness.
Let them call you to talk about ordinary things.
Let them take you out on a Thursday.
Let them talk about anything and everything just because it is you they are talking to
Let them have a safe place in you.
Let them see the heart in you that didn’t harden.
Let them love you.
Author: Cassie Phillips
I know, I know, so profound and powerful. The shirt that I purchased on Amazon had a different take on the poem and it reads:
Let them
Misunderstand You
Judge You
Gossip about You
Never Doubt Your Worth
Your Beauty
Keep Shining
LET THEM
Anonymous
Poetry like music is all about interpretation by the reader or listener. I refer to Toxic People, Betrayal and Letting Go, because I feel this poem is a great coping mechanism when faced with these feelings and traumas. The poem really puts life in perspective, and how you can empower yourself. It also is a great Self-esteem builder. Mel Robbins recently published a podcast episode, “Let Them” about what she considers the “Let Them Theory”. Take a listen it is worthy of your time, Episode 70.
This poem recently was plucked out of my coping skills tool chest because I was Betrayed by someone my family allowed to be in our lives. Once you get past the initial shock, there are stages of grief, anger and betrayal that we all go through. This is when I knew I needed to read this poem again. I didn’t just read it once, but many times, until I was able to fully absorb what had happened and how we could turn around this Betrayal into Empowerment. This is no fancy technique of mine it just works. Betrayal, Toxic People and Letting Go are a painful process and we must go through the stages but that doesn’t mean we can’t build ourselves up in the process.
“Let Them,” enforces the idea that we are powerless over others behaviors but we are not powerless on how we approach and handle the trauma. We as individual don’t have to give the power to others to change our trajectory of life. Just “Let Them”, be an asshole, “Let Them,” fall, “Let Them,” be lonely, “Let Them”, navigate life without you. We can’t change others but we can Let Them Go. We can’t change Toxic People but we can Let Them Go. We can’t turn back time when we have been Betrayed but we can Let Them Go. We can allow someone to abuse us, hurt us, reject us, bully us, take us for granted or we can Let Them Go.
They may come along down the road and want forgiveness, let them take you out to lunch, let them miss you, let them enjoy your presence just so they can see what they gave up, pushed away and how well you are doing. Let Them see how the pain they caused did not taint you but made you a stronger healthier person. Let Them fall in love with you all of again but know this time you “LET THEM GO!”
POSITIVE THOUGHTS ALWAYS CREATE POSITIVE ENERGY
GO OUT AND EXPLORE ALL OF THE WIDE OPEN SPACES IN YOUR WORLD
CIAO,
ILISE
LISTEN AND EVOLVE WITH ME
