“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.”  Eckhart Tolle

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Over time, I came to understand that letting go is one of the most difficult — yet most transformative — parts of life.

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As human beings, we naturally hold on. We hold on to relationships, expectations, identities, beliefs, disappointments, pain, memories, and versions of life we once thought would last forever.

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But sometimes growth begins the moment we loosen our grip.

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For me, letting go was never about giving up.

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It was about accepting that some things could not be changed, and having the courage to focus my energy on what mattered most.

 

While not every ending was easy, many became turning points that revealed why letting go had been necessary.

 

Learning to Release

There were periods in my life where I held onto things long after they had stopped bringing peace, growth, emotional or physical safety.

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Like many people, I feared that letting go might mean failure, loss, or losing part of my identity.

But over time, I began to realise that holding on too tightly can sometimes prevent life from moving forward naturally.

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Letting go also did not mean forgetting, it meant accepting.

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Accepting that certain chapters, relationships, beliefs, or ways of living had served their purpose and that new chapters sometimes require us to release what no longer fits who we are becoming. Before they can truly begin.

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Creating Safe Spaces

During my years living in England, I began connecting more deeply with self-awareness, healing, intuition, and personal growth.

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Around this time, I started facilitating self-help groups. Initially, they focused around divorce and emotional support because those were experiences I understood personally at that stage of my life.

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But gradually the groups evolved into something much deeper and more organic.

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People began finding us through word of mouth.

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The groups became safe spaces where people could speak honestly about pain, relationships, fears, emotional struggles, healing, growth, and self-discovery without fear of judgment.

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One moment that stayed with me involved my dear friend Gabrielle.

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She spoke openly for the first time about painful experiences from her childhood and how deeply they had affected many areas of her life.

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For years, she had carried silence, fear, hurt, and emotional protection beneath the surface whilst presenting a completely different version of herself outwardly.

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Eventually, she reached a point where she felt ready to let go of the fear and secrecy she had carried for so long.

I remember her saying she finally felt liberated.

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Looking back now, I think many of us spend years carrying emotional weight we no longer need to hold.

Sometimes healing begins simply by feeling safe enough to speak honestly.

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Watching people slowly rediscover confidence, self-worth, hope, and emotional freedom through those groups was deeply meaningful to me.

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Looking back, I can see that as I was beginning to let go of one chapter of my own life, I felt drawn to create safe spaces for others. In many ways, the groups became places of transition, and many people found the courage to move forward within them.

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Returning Home

As rewarding as that work was, another quiet shift was happening within me.

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I knew my children needed stability, consistency, safety, and emotional security.

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Someone they should have been able to rely upon was repeatedly letting them down, and I became increasingly aware of how deeply this could affect them.

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I knew I needed to create a calmer, more nurturing environment for them.

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That understanding led me back home to Scotland.

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Looking back now, returning home became another act of letting go — letting go of one chapter in order to create a healthier and more stable, safer future for my children and myself.

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Creativity through Learning 

Once back in Scotland, another chapter of growth began.

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I immersed myself in learning, eventually studying Crisis Counselling, Psychology for Counselling, Emotional Intelligence, Client Motivation, Nutrition & Weight Management, Social Care, followed by completing my BA in Applied Social Studies.

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Learning became another form of creativity for me.

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Not creativity in the artistic sense alone, but the creativity of expanding possibilities, developing new ideas, and discovering different ways of understanding people and life itself.

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Over time, my children and I each followed our own creative and professional paths.

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Jodie pursued beauty, holistic therapies, and wellbeing-focused work. She also built a successful flower and balloon for events business. Today Jodie chooses to focus on her passion for holistic therapies and beauty. She now has quality family time available. Her latest creative venture is her hand made jewellery line, Jodie believes it provides her with two main things, relaxation & a sense of achievement. 

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Jade achieved a BA in Fine Art alongside becoming a Pilates instructor, and then she built a successful children’s imaginative play class. Jade now focuses on her love of providing beauty treatments, her latest is one she has personally created & developed. Jade also feels she has a perfect work-life balance with lots of family time.

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My son David developed his own wellbeing-first approach to teaching. He is passionate about outdoor learning, where children can experience many creative ways of learning. He also uses sport and exercise to help children thrive and engage more fully in their learning experiences.

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Some of his students are neurodivergent, something he understands from his own experience of ADHD. He uses that understanding to bring compassion, empathy, and acceptance into his teaching. He recognises that every child comes with their own strengths, challenges, and unique way of experiencing the world, and he works hard to create an environment where children feel supported, and valued.

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What mattered most to me was that my children felt free to explore who they truly were and develop confidence in their individuality.

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I knew personally how damaging it can feel to suppress parts of yourself for acceptance or survival, and I wanted something different for them.

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Aurora

Eventually, many of these paths for my daughters and me came together in the creation of Aurora — our shared space for beauty, wellbeing, coaching and connection.

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Aurora became much more than a business. It became a welcoming, nurturing environment.

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For many years, Aurora was an important and meaningful part of our lives. 

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Letting Go Again

Over time, however, another shift quietly began happening.

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The building and business demands gradually started taking priority over, family life, and wellbeing.

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Both my daughters and I were becoming increasingly aware of the importance of self-care, and creating a way of living that felt more aligned with our values.

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Eventually, we made the difficult decision to let Aurora go.

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It allowed us to slow down, reassess what mattered most, and embrace a more balanced way of living.

 

From that transition, The Self-Care Studio was developed.

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Then following a year of ill health my cancer diagnosis arrived.

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Looking back now, I honestly believe letting go of Aurora gave me the time and space I needed before life changed so dramatically.​

 

It gave me room to breathe, to reflect, and to write — all of which have become important as I navigate this difficult chapter of my life.

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The Gift of Creativity

Letting go allows something wonderful to flow.

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Over time, I realised that creativity is not only about making art. I have come to see it as our ability to imagine new possibilities, adapt to change, and shape something meaningful from life's experiences.

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Sometimes, it is only when we let go that we make room for creativity to emerge.

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You Could Try Reflecting On…

• Am I holding onto something out of habit rather than choice?

• What would become easier if I stopped carrying what no longer belongs in my life?​

You could also have a clear out…

• What no longer serves a purpose in your life?

• Creating physical space has often helped me gain mental clarity. After I stopped cancer treatment, I had a huge clear out and found it surprisingly therapeutic.

• Out went the things that no longer made me feel good, and in came a fresh new look for my healing and peaceful living space.

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Continuing the Journey

Letting go has shaped many chapters of my life.

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It has not always been easy.

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But often those moments of release created space for growth, creativity, connection, and new beginnings that I could never fully see at the time.

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Every time I let go of something that no longer fitted, I created room for something new:

 

• A safer life for my children,

• Learning,

• Meaningful work,

• Aurora,

• The Self-Care Studio,

• Reflecting - Writing.

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Sometimes, in finally releasing what no longer fits our lives, we gently lay down burdens we were never meant to carry forever.