The Art of Letting Go

by Rania Naim

Letting go is really hard, especially when you have to let go of something you really want, whether it’s an opportunity, or someone you really liked or loved, or even any expectations you had about something.

What is destined will reach you, even if it be underneath two mountains. What is not destined, will not reach you, even if it be between your two lips. —Proverb

Anything that feels forced or harder than it should be or causes you pain and distress is not meant for you.

The more you fight for something that is not meant for you, the more it will fight you.

There is power in letting go, a power that brings more peace and serenity than being stuck in situations that make your heart a bit heavier each and every day.

If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello. —Paulo Coelho

Some endings are not bad; sometimes they are not even endings, just bridges to new beginnings.

The truth is if you reach a point where letting go is the only option, it usually means that this thing or someone already let you go. You are trying to stay in a place where you are not welcome anymore.

As you keep learning the art of letting go, let go of your fear, of your past, of your mistakes, of your insecurities, of your failures, of your self-doubt. Forgive yourself enough to let go of even the parts of you that dim your light.

Life is imperfect. It’s beautiful and complicated and burdensome and messy. And you are a part of it, a part that grows and changes and laughs and loves and gets broken and comes back together. But there will never be a time when you can’t just step back and start all over.

If you don’t trust anything or anyone in life, trust that the things you leave behind allow you to make room for the unexpected. Because with enough faith, courage, hope, and love; and the awareness of every blessing we’ve been given, and feeling gratitude for every gift we’ve been granted, the unexpected paths we end up taking, often end up feeling like the place we are exactly meant to be.

But, what I have come to find is that grief isn’t your enemy. Your rejection of grief is. Too many times, we try to hide from our deep emotions and try to make a shield to protect ourselves from them. But too many times, this is the wrong thing to do. We are only hurting ourselves more by continuing to ignore our hurt.

The more you realize that it’s okay to feel what you are feeling, the more you heal. The more you walk beside grief instead of running from it, the more you heal.

When someone doesn’t want you, one day you will be thankful for their honesty and decision because they have let you go on to find yourself and the happiness you deserve. Such happiness will not only help you realize how strong and brave you have been but it also shows you exactly why things didn’t work out with anyone before.