There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world; it’s the beginning of a new life.

Sometimes we don’t realize that until we stop looking backwards craving that which we have lost or refuse to let go of we cannot open our eyes to see all the marvelous things that await us. Regardless, we hold tight and refuse to let go of the pain, let go of someone, let go of the bad situation; If only you could see that looking back into an incomplete and imperfect past, with regret, blame, guilt or resentment is keeping us from the treasures that await us here now. The past has gone.  You cannot rectify something that is no longer with you.

Letting go doesn’t mean we don’t care or that we have shut down, it means we stop trying to force outcomes and make people behave the way we would like, it means we give up resistance to the way things are, for the moment and we stop trying to do the impossible; which is controlling that which we cannot, and instead focus on what is possible--which usually means taking care of ourselves.  And we do this in gentleness, kindness, and love, as much as possible.

The Tao Te Ching says, “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.  When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.”