Love is why I came here in the first place.
Love is now the reason I must go.
[John Denver, “Seasons of the Heart“]
And sometimes the best we can do is let go.
Real
Technical and Analytical Readings
- Jessica Lahey, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers, 2015): “When I was learning to drive, my mother sat in the passenger seat pressing her foot on an imaginary brake, gripping the door handle for dear life. She couldn’t do it for me; she could only watch. It wasn’t pretty, but I did learn.”
Imaginary
Visual Arts
- Norman Rockwell, Breaking Home Ties (1954)
Film and Stage
- Late Spring: a father in post-war Japan pretends that he is about to be married, hoping to encourage his daughter to leave the nest
- Life of Pi, about letting go, moving on and trying to figure out what was real
- Since Otar Left: an elderly woman uses a fiction to let go of her deceased son, her granddaughter lets go of a dysfunctional relationship with her mother, and the mother – the elderly woman’s daughter - cannot let go
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Jordi Savall’s compilation of music on his album entitled “Carlos V: Mille Regretz: La Canción del Emperador” pays homage to Carlos V, who abdicated his throne when he could not bring peace to his people. He gave a moving statement about his wishes for the people and his inability to bring those wishes into being.
Music: songs and other short pieces
- John Denver, Seasons of the Heart
Poetry
I loved you, and I probably still do,
And for a while the feeling may remain...
But let my love no longer trouble you,
I do not wish to cause you any pain.
I loved you; and the hopelessness I knew,
The jealousy, the shyness - though in vain -
Made up a love so tender and so true
As may God grant you to be loved again.
[Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, “I Loved You”]