Out of the Mouth of BrainyQuote.com ...

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
-- Raymond Lindquist

Thank you, Mr. Lindquist. That does not make this entry any easier. John Wayne said it better.

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.
--John Wayne

It's scary for me to let go and start again. Even hard things, like this summer, I still cling to in a sense. It's familar to me. Even thought it hurts, I can't bring myself to stop thinking about being disappointed, responsible, and hurt.

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.
-- Author Unknown

Ain't that the truth? Until I let go, I will be cynical, insensitive, and insecure. Right?

Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?
-- Leo Buscaglia

Because... I'm a masochist. Haha. Jk. I hold on to it because I can still change it. Is it so wring to give up myself completely to save something that my family is losing its grip on? And, no. It's not a person. It's something else.

There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.
-- Author Unknown

I still can't come to grips with it. I know that I'm not close to being the person I should be, especially when I keep recent events in mind. Tonight, I linked my immaturity as a Christian with my inability to release the things that are enslaving me to the pursuit of my own ambitions rather than the image of God. Allowing emotions to control every aspect of my life is hurting others.

“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that's bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they're afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It's all in how you carry it. That's what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you're letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.” - Jim Morrison

::shrugs:: if you say so...

::turns up volume on iTunes::

I've grown to see the philosophy of my own mistrust, / We all have our faults, mine come in waves that you turn to rust, / Some of us laugh, some of us cry, / Some of us smoke, some of us lie, / But it's all just the way that we cope with our lives. / I've been hanging onto something, / You keep laughing awe-inspiring.