Tuesday 25 June 2013

Let Yourself Go

What does let yourself go mean to you? Maybe it means actually going: slipping off down an unknown side street in a familiar place or striding out to meet someone new far, far away?



Maybe it sounds like something your mother might have said. Don't eat that last slice of cake. Don't let yourself go. 


What do you think? Sometimes it's good to see how far you can get

34 comments:

alexa said...

I have always enjoyed that quote from Germaine Greer, and you have made a lovely job of making it more visible!

Sandie said...

What a lovely card Sian, the quote is very true.
For me today this means gathering myself, so that I can 'let myself go' of feeling overwhelmed. I want to focus and have a positive and productive and so far I am making good headway and it is working!!
Have a lovely day too xx

Unknown said...

I'm going to be honest and say that I am not a Germaine Greer fan, but I love the card. The stitching appeals to me along with the cute little plane. I am longing for enough time in one block to pull out my sewing machine. I read your article in Jot today. You had a lovely multi-page spread and I spotted a Month in Numbers LO too. Are you featuring in the next issue?

Miriam said...

I used to think it was a negative statement, now I am older & wiser (?) and my own person I think of it as positive, be free be alive be you that sort of thing. Oh and I love your card.

Barbara Eads said...

I guess it can mean anything you want it to mean. I love the stitched ruffle on your card!

Lou said...

This is a wonderful card Sian and I do love how you are typing quotes and using them x

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

To me (right now) it means, allowing myself to step out of my everyday role of mother and wife and find the fearless girl I once was. Just for a little while. Perhaps it's a mid-life crisis in another guise!

Unknown said...

Fantastic quote from Greer.

Maria Ontiveros said...

I think of both the positive (Let go, have fun) and the negative (gaining weight and getting out of shape). But, today, I'm focusing on the positive and thoughts of my mother who often said, "Well, as long as you enjoyed yourself and had a good time, that's what's important." Yes, she could be a bit of a libertine.
Rinda

Sian said...

Hi Chipper, yes, the plan is for a new article in the next issue :)

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

That is a phrase I haven't heard in awhile. I like the quote but having heard "He/She has really let themselves go" in a negative way for all of my life I'm a bit ambivalent of the phrase. I tend to think of letting things or people go as a way to see how far I can get.

Jo said...

I think it does have two meanings but I like to think that letting yourself go means taking a leap of faith. I love the quote x

Unknown said...

I recently let myself go to a job interview for a job that I had no belief in getting as I knew who I was up against. My better judgement (or inner voice) told me that I was setting myself up for a fall and in past times I would not have wanted to deal with the disappointment. But I went and I got it, so I am going to do it more, let myself go. Great quote and question. x

Beverly said...

I love the card but I have never had a positive connection with this phrase. If you say it here you are referring to someone who no longer cares about their appearance. If someone "lets loose" they are more apt to be fitting your direction.

Alison said...

'Letting yourself go' has negative connotations for me too I'm afraid to say, but I rather like your take on it!
Alison xx

Anonymous said...

"lets herself go" has mostly negative connotations for me, but I recognize the wisdom in the quote. The hard part--putting it into action!

Melissa said...

I do believe I've let myself "go" too far the last few years and now I'm having to exercise twice a day to get rid of what I found! LOL

However, I do believe I should let myself go on a long road trip soon - that's totally different.

helena said...

I can hear my Grandmother saying it - in the negative sense

but I love the positive take - reminds me of Dr Seuss and 'Oh the Places You'll go'

JO SOWERBY said...

I love reading new quotes. Never really took much notice of Ms Greer myself, no don't throw things at me!
I just was never that into her.
I love this quote and although I can hear the negative, the positive part of my brain is trying to be well positive,
Jo x

Sue Althouse said...

So lovely, and also so true. Also a bit scary...

Anonymous said...

I find it's more negative for me - as in she let her appearance go but I do like the card.

debs14 said...

My first thought was the type of letting yourself go where you pop to the shops in your pjs and slippers but now I can see the letting yourself go further than you have been before - which is far mor positive!

Cheri said...

I've always heard this phrase with the negative connotations, but I like the flip side better - giving yourself permission to go new places, try new things, and see what comes of it sounds like sage advice!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

What a great card, Sian. Love the design and quote. At first I thought "let yourself go..." as in not taking care of yourself in the physical sense. But then it meant something more...more like "leap and the net will appear" type of thing. Lovely.

Abi said...

You always set me thinking Sian! I like the card and especially that blue ribbon.

Ladkyis said...

Way back in the '60s Let yourself go was just another way of saying "chill out man" and at the same time there was the negative, disapproving "She's let herself go, doesn't open her curtains until afternoon!". I never trusted Ms G. Greer, don't know why. I do like your take on it and I love the card. I will never do stitching on paper cos the paper dust plays havoc with the machine and as it was my livelihood for a while I couldn't take the risk. Now I never sew unless I am feeling truely inspired to do a quilted something

Lea Lacoste said...

clearly not an option at the moment for me, but i so wish it was. i wonder where that would take me

Karen said...

Sadly, my initial reaction was definitely a negative one, but I'm glad you gave me a different perspective on it.

jeanie g said...

I can still hear my Mom's voice, You need to take yourself in hand, young lady, whenever I needed chastising as a teenager. Ms Greer's quote was the opposite to what my upbringing was all about and it's the former which has stayed with me, even now as a grandmother. Perhaps I should have listened to Ms Greer! I now find myself fearful of the final letting go of my personal circumstances but I know it's holding me back by not doing so. Crikey Sian, your beautiful card definitely hit the spot for me right now.

Denise said...

Hmmm - my immediate thought is of doing the Morecambe and Wise dance down the high street !! weird ? yes - but that's what I see when I hear 'let yourself go 'x and I love the ruffle on the card.

Susanne said...

Sweet card, I think a little risk taking every now and again is a good thing. We wouldn't want to look back and see only missed opportunities.

Jennifer Shaw said...

Lovely card! I always though of that statement as a negative one. It's refreshing to think of it in a positive way.

Carmen said...

I love this quote and it's one I haven't heard before. I love that stitched circle around it :)

Missus Wookie said...

I like the card and the quote - it made me think but the comments are wonderful :)

I've been working hard all this year at giving up with the things I SHOULD do - letting go is hard to practice.

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