“To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be. When we let be with compassion, things come and go on their own.”
– Jack Kornfield
When we hold onto the past with resentment, we are holding back from the future in suspicion. We are refusing to be here, now, present and fully alive. If we are willing to let go of the past without trying to change the unchangeable, and accept the future without hoping to control the uncontrollable, we will be able to live now, which is the only time for living that we have.
Letting go is relaxing one’s grip on pain. Most human pain is caused by holding on or holding back. Holding on to the past is like attaching one’s nerve-endings to an object outside oneself which is stuck, stationary.
Letting go is necessary if one is to find release from the pain. Release from pain comes as one is willing to release the hatred being held against another. Resentment disappears as one gently lets go of the fantasies of the other’s plotting, hating or betraying. Holding on to pain doesn’t fix anything. Replaying the past over and over again doesn’t change it, and wishing things were different doesn’t make it so.
Letting go, saying good-by and risking trust are sequential steps toward freedom. And it is to let oneself go into the future, free, without any burden and relatively unafraid.
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
“If someone doesn’t care to accept you, respect you, believe in you, don’t hesitate to move on and let them go. There are many who love and appreciate you just the way you are.”
― Amaka Imani
“Sometimes the strongest thing you will ever do will be to let go of someone. It will be painful, you will suffer guilt, and you will second-guess yourself, but for your own sanity and quality of life, there will come a time where you hand them to God, with your love, and trust Him to be who and what He is. May our Lord comfort you.”
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“Time doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go.”
― Roy T. Bennett
If your heart hurts a little after letting go of someone or something, that’s okay. It just means that your feelings were genuine. No one likes ends. And no one likes pain. But sometimes we have to put things that were once good to an end after they turn toxic to our wellbeing. Not every new beginning is meant to last forever. And not every person who walks into your life is meant to stay.
– Najwa Zebian
Dear Self – Don’t allow anyone to trigger you. Let it go. Walk away. You’ll be proud of yourself later. The next time you feel yourself being triggered emotionally, tell yourself that you will allow the emotion to pass before you will react or speak. Tell yourself that you are aligned with peace and wellness and that fighting and arguing no longer soothes your soul. This does not mean that you will not speak up and be assertive-no. Instead, it means that you will be mindful of what you let bother you and even more aware of how you handle each situation.
– Sylvester McNutt III
“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”
― Steve Maraboli
“Time doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go.”
― Roy T. Bennett
“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
― Ann Landers
“Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.”
– Roy T. Bennett
“Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.”
― Roy T. Bennett
“Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.”
― Deborah Reber
“If you truly want to be respected by people you love, you must prove to them that you can survive without them.”
– Shannon L. Alder
“If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you’re allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.”
― Shannon L. Alder
“Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.”
– Steve Maraboli
“I don’t know why we all hang on to something we know we’re better off letting go of. It’s like we’re scared to lose what we don’t even really have. Some of us say we’d rather have something than absolutely nothing, but the truth is, to have it halfway is harder than not having it at all.”
— unknown
“When we think we have been hurt by someone in the past, we build up defenses to protect ourselves from being hurt in the future. So the fearful past causes a fearful future and the past and future become one. We cannot love when we feel fear…. When we release the fearful past and forgive everyone, we will experience total love and oneness with all.”
― Gerald G. Jampolsky
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
― Roy T. Bennett
“Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.”
― Steve Maraboli
“Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits.”
― Sarah Ban Breathnach
“You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.”
― C. JoyBell C.
“If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.”
― Steve Maraboli
Why let go of yesterday? Because yesterday has already let go of you.
– Steve Maraboli
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
– Albert Einstein
“What if you could pick one day of your life, and everything would stop changing, every day would be similar and comparable to that one day, you’d always have the same people with you? If you could do that, would you do it? Would you pick that day and make that choice? We crave for things to stop changing, we wish that things would never change. But if we got what we wanted, there are so many things that are better, that we would never, ever know about. Sure, things would stay the same as that one wonderful day, but then there would be nothing else out there, ever. So can you remember the very first day when everything really did begin to change? Is there a thing that can remind you? Mine is a blue rose, and that’s when everything began to change because that’s the day I began to believe in things I never believed in before; the day I found three blue roses. Think about your first day of change, can you remember all the new heights you’ve soared since that day? All the new people? All the better things and times? Would you throw all of that time away? I wouldn’t. Instead, I want to finally accept all the things that I couldn’t change, which led to me being right here, right now. Maybe we all carry around inside us one day we wish we could keep forever, something we wished never did change. It’s time to let go of that day, and soar.”
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Each of these quotes is a powerful reminder that letting go creates space for fresh beginnings: stripping you of what happened yesterday, and enabling the doors of brand new opportunities to open today. It’s releasing anything that disrupts your happiness and no longer serves you on your journey. I hope this page inspires you to move forward and live a life with more freedom, lightness and presence!
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