Letting Go and the Value of Change

Posted on by Wynne Leon

Teaching my kids about the value of money has always come with the moment when they’ve had to let go of two quarters in order to get a dollar bill. Or trade five $1 bills for one $5 bill. There’s a conceptual hurdle that has to be overcome and it isn’t instinctive to let go.

And sheesh, isn’t that just the start of the lessons about learning to let go? It seems to me that life is constantly challenging me to keep practicing this one. There’s letting go of control, of routine, of ego, of expectations. And that’s just naming things from last week… 😊

The image that comes to me when I wrestle with this is the monkey trap used in the jungle. A trap is set with a cage filled with rice. The monkey can put its hand into the cage to get the rice but once it fists the rice, it can no longer pull its hand out. If it would just let go, the monkey would have freedom.

Oh boy does my monkey mind resonate with that one! I still struggle with releasing things that no longer serve me – even though I know with certainty that I need to have empty hands in order to grab the next thing.

We’re letting go of some things on the Heart of the Matter blog in 2024. Deb and Endless Weekend have chosen not to be regular contributors, although we are lucky that they’ve offered to be guest contributors when needed. Vicki and I, and the whole team are so grateful that we had a year of their wisdom and contribution! We are also thrilled that Brian, Erin, and Libby will continue to regularly contribute their incredible writing and insights.

Also, we are cutting back on our publishing schedule – from seven days a week to three days of posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We’ll still release podcasts on Fridays. That means we’re letting go of Well Said Saturdays.

We’re making these changes so that our hands are freed up to grab the next thing. Vicki and I have been asked to do workshops and content focused on empowerment, improvement, and creativity. We aren’t sure where that’ll lead but in order to pursue it with intention and focus, we need to create a little more room. We need to let go of the way things were in order to see where things go. In doing so, we hope we’re creating more space for our contributors and wonderful collaborators/readers as well.

My kids have managed to get past the money exchange when they learn the value of the currency. I think that applies here as well because we value quality and your readership. Thank you for being with us as we rolled out Heart of the Matter and now as we change. Happy 2024 to you all!

(featured photo from Pexels)

41 thoughts on “Letting Go and the Value of Change”

  2. All of you have been remarkably productive. I am astonished at your stamina. Thanks to those leaving and those staying. You have my gratitude.

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  3. Happy New Year, Wynne! It’s been utterly impressive the schedule you all have kept this past year! And the content has been wonderful! The opportunity to provide workshops sounds exciting though. Hopefully, we can hear about those as they manifest! Best wishes!

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  7. It sounds like 2024 is going to be exciting for HoTM and for you and Vicki. Workshops and targetted content sounds very exciting. I look forward to keeping up with the posts here from you all, and maybe to hearing about your new projects. Good luck to you and the HoTM team

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  10. I think your new schedule on the HotM will give you and Vicki the space you need to pursue new projects. As for learning about currency, you reminded me of when I was in kindergarten or younger and our parents shared their coin collections with me and my brother. They divided things up equitably. Then my brother traded me my dime collection for his nickels — because he told me they were bigger.

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    1. Oh my goodness – that’s a great story about you and your brother. My brother would take the dollar he got for his allowance and give me 50 cents to do all his chores. 🙂

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    1. There’s an old saying (from Socrates?) “Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding onto.”

      I’ve been reading some history books, and on the topic of money there have been some monumental transitions: first to precious metal coins, then to paper currency, and now to paperless transactions. Each one required Herculean efforts, so it’s quite the accomplishment that your kids were able to make it so quickly. Kudos to you!

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      1. Oh, how interesting about the topic of money. Now that you put it that way, it makes sense that those were big leaps. I love the related info that you always have EW – so good! Happy 2024!

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  13. Honestly, I think your schedule change is good for everyone. Writers don’t have as demanding a schedule (which means happier writers and better writing), and readers can focus and read the blog posts. Everyone wins!

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  15. Good luck with your upcoming changes! And all the best with your upcoming workshops – can’t wait to hear more about them.

    Also, maybe I’m sleepy but wouldn’t your kids want to trade the 2 quarters for $1? It’s a steal to me! 😆

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