Letting go. Just the phrase makes me pause. It’s something I’ve never been particularly good at. I’m someone who thrives on control or, rather, someone who used to think she thrived on control. Holding on to what I believed I needed, planning meticulously, calculating every step, thinking things through to the tiniest detail. It gave me a sense of safety. A sense of knowing what was going to happen.

But here’s what I’ve truly learnt over the past year: letting go can actually give you more control or at least, more peace. And it saves me an incredible amount of energy.

The need for control is something I picked up over time, fuelled by uncertainty. It’s something we’re taught, really, follow the steps, stick to the rules, and you’ll know the outcome. And yes, for the little things in life, that’s often true. Planning our travel routes, for instance, still requires structure, logistics, and forethought. But the big things, well, that’s where letting go has taken centre stage.

This past year has been one long, layered journey into the art of letting go. Preparing for our departure was a slow unravel of everything that once felt solid. Starting with clearing out our home, our safe place, sorting, selling, giving away. Letting go of things, both physical and emotional. Letting go of expectations: school for Philou, careers for us. Letting go of income security. Letting go of having family and friends close by. Letting go of playdates, weekends with grandma, the familiar comfort of the school, the zoo, and Plaswijckpark.

Letting go of the eternal question: what if?

It’s taken a lot of energy, not just to do it, but to dare to do it. And still, I catch myself, trying to hold the reins too tightly. But now I see that what comes back in return is something far more valuable. Letting go brings peace, not the superficial kind, but a deep, grounded calm.

If you live with the trust that what’s meant for you will happen anyway, no matter how hard you try to steer the course, then letting go starts to make perfect sense. It creates space. Space to discover what else is out there. Space to be surprised by what unfolds. Letting go opens the door to new possibilities you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

On board, letting go means not always knowing where we’ll end up. It means accepting that things might not go as planned. The wind decides the route, and if you thought you were in charge, well, think again. The wind teaches us to surrender. And when we do, unexpected things begin to happen. Moments, encounters, opportunities, things we never could have imagined.

So now, every day, I try to let go with trust. Not by pushing things away or ignoring what I feel, but by staying open, curious about what might come if I release my grip.

I don’t know what the future holds. I explore, but I don’t fix anything in place. I trust that the right opportunities will find us, in whatever shape they come.

And that, to me, is the beauty of the great letting go.

Written by: Mirjam