The art of ‘Letting go’

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

If you ask Annette Stanwick about forgiveness, she’ll likely tell you that it can be very difficult to give to someone who has hurt you deeply.
In 1999 one of her brothers was murdered. She felt anger, pain, fear and other emotions towards the killers for what they had done to her brother. In dealing with the pain and learning to let go she found she was inspired to help others do the same.
On Jan. 29, she spoke to couples about ‘Letting Go & Living Free’ at the Days Inn and Suites in Strathmore. The seminar teaches couples about how to let the past go and how to live free of anger.
“I was a very angry woman for a time. I’d never dreamed I would feel publicly led to forgive my brother’s murderers in the courtroom in Virginia,” said Stanwick.
After that day in the courtroom Stanwick just wanted to acknowledge her pain. Letting it go took a great deal of courage, something she wanted to stress to the couples attending the seminar.
The seminars don’t just cover letting go of anger related topics, they also cover letting go of relationship issues, letting go of past hurt by people you trust and just learning to live free of anger, pain, fear and regret.
“It can be all kinds of things because we as human beings are not immune to being hurt or to hurting others. Then, unless we know or find a way to heal from those hurtful experiences, we can hurt for a very long time,” said Stanwick.
The couples that have attended these seminars have seen results and the feedback has been very positive to improve their lifestyles.
One time a couple attended a seminar and she could tell they were angry with each other. She taught them the freedom formula she shares with people and with it they were able to resolve their anger.
“They came to another seminar that I did and when they walked in the room, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They were radiant and so happy and they said never in the 35 years had they been so pleased,” said Stanwick.
One thing she hopes people will take out of these seminars is that it is possible to let go of negative emotions and to somehow find happiness in their lives.
“The goal is to help them understand through real life experiences that forgiveness and letting go is possible. I give them some tools that they can take home and use in their own lives, and I’ll show them examples at the end of the seminar,” said Stanwick.
Her next seminar will be ‘Letting go and Living Free of Fear’ on Feb. 25 here in Strathmore.