Many people think that “letting go”
means letting go of that person, that relationship, or that event.

Actually, that’s not the case.

What’s done is done;
whatever you do now, you can’t turn back time,
and the event itself won’t just vanish into thin air.
What truly makes you to suffer over and over again isn’t the event itself,
but the thought that keeps replaying in your head:
“He shouldn’t have treated me that way.”
“If only I’d tried a little harder back then.”
“I didn’t do good enough back then.”
“He misunderstood me—that’s not what I meant.”

Pain often doesn’t come from the event itself,
but our interpretation.

When the event you see
can be transformed into just a thought in your head—
not a fact, not the whole truth—
your can’t “let go” will begin to loosen just a little.

Letting go
doesn’t mean denying that something happened,
it doesn’t mean denying the expression of your emotions,
and it certainly doesn’t mean pretending you don’t care.

Letting go
means stopping the inside struggle with your own thoughts.

When a thought arises,
observe it, accept it,
and then let it pass gently.

What truly brings you relief
has never come from the other person changing,
but from you no longer clinging tightly to that story.

— Author: Sean
— Translated by Haru

(Pictures by Sean)

Chinese version:
. 淺談”放下”