New School Year, Old Wounds, and the Work of Letting Go

Back to School and Back to Myself

The start of the school year is one of those natural times to reframe and make adjustments—to reflect, plan, and set intentions. When you work in a school, your ambition is often fueled by your mindset, and I’m going into this year knowing it will be challenging on many levels. We’re facing major funding cuts, which only further muddies the waters I’m already wading through as I adjust to new leadership at my school site.

And the Winner is…

I applied for the position that now belongs to my new boss. We were neck and neck until the final decision came down. As assistant principal, I was the logical choice—or so I thought—but sometimes school districts have other things in mind.

Which brings me back to reframing.

Old Thought Patterns, New Awareness

This humbling experience has unearthed some deeply rooted thought patterns and beliefs that don’t serve me. In fact, they hold me back. I’ve been reading Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament by Michael A. Singer. His earlier book, The Untethered Soul, brought me so much clarity, and I highly recommend both.

In Living Untethered, Singer guides readers on a journey inward to discover the source of suffering and the path to inner freedom. Through practical insights and spiritual wisdom, he explains how to observe the mind without getting entangled in its thoughts and emotions. The book offers a roadmap to peace by helping us live from the seat of awareness, rather than the chaos of the ego.

Who’s Running the Show?

And that’s exactly where I’ve been living—entangled in ego. Always chasing the gold star. Wanting to be the best. Feeling slighted if I’m not approached or deliberately included. These are thought patterns formed in childhood, and my current circumstances have placed me squarely in the middle of that chaos. I have some work to do.

My Homework is Soul Work

In addition to my daily responsibilities, I’m now adding soul work to the equation.

It all came to a head just a few days in, when I worked myself into such intense inner turmoil that I was seriously considering quitting. But God. I realized I couldn’t keep getting hooked by the emotional sore spots being triggered on a daily basis. I had two choices: walk out the door, or start learning to let go.

The Practice of Letting Go

If you’ve done any inner work, you know where it starts—with awareness. You learn to observe your thoughts like invasive weeds springing from your brain. Instead of getting hooked, you watch them, then let them go. You consciously replace negative thoughts with positive ones. You root yourself in the present, rather than being fueled by past wounds or anxious predictions of the future. You breathe, take a walk, and make space for the love that has always been there.

And you do this every day. Sometimes every hour.

Singer writes that once you begin to release these samskaras—the energetic imprints of past experiences—you make space for light, love, and energy to flow into your inner being. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach a state of blissful contentment, but I do know I’m putting one foot in front of the other. I’m learning to let go.

Still a Student

Because no matter your title or your age, you never stop being a student.

And school is back in session.