I used to hold onto everything. Memories both good and bad, items, people, and ideas were like baubles and trinkets in my hands, constantly accumulating. The more junk I added, the more I was weighed down.
Eventually, those collected items towered above me, and I was no longer holding them up but buried beneath the crushing pressure of never letting them go.
Junk means nothing
You know that scene in the Labyrinth where the main character Sara meets the Bag Lady and is given material things that matter to her? She soon realizes that this junk means nothing to her and is able to break away from the Bag Lady’s influence. But what would have happened if the heroine did not realize that all that stuff was just…stuff?
There is a definite beauty in letting go
You can finally let your arms that have long been too tired with holding up the weight of your world. You can finally crumble down into the earth, where everything is pure and natural. You can let your hair down, breathe in the air completely, and exhale all the pain and doubt you ever harbored before the new year comes.
Yet, it is hard
Letting go might not be some simple task as dropping whatever it is you have clung to for so long. Sometimes, it takes remarkable will. A firmly set heart. A desire to live unbridled by material constraints.
For me, it was realizing that I was forcing everything. I was preaching about going with the flow, but I was struggling against the tide too. I was clinging to the rocks of my past with the hope I could just tread there in wait.
More: 4 Habits That Help Pessimists Feel Happier
All I ever saw was the blinking light in the distance
Maybe the future would come for me like a rescue ship in the ocean. Unfortunately, all I ever saw was the blinking light in the distance, shrouded by a fog of uncertainty and despair. It was only that I let go of those rocks that the tide could take me far away.
All the junk was washed away. Though the scars remain, and I can look at them and know what caused them, I do not look back. I breathed out negativity then told myself that this world – and this life – is mutable.
When nothing is there to hold you down, you could become whatever it is you desire. With nothing attached to your identity, you can drift as you please.
Start the new year with a happy heart
So let go right now to start the new year with a positive mindset. Stop comparing yourself to those around you. Stop holding onto things, onto hatred, grudges, envy, and pain.
Allow these things to fall like grains of sand from your fingertips and let the water wash you away. When you’re not weighed down by junk, the tide can take you to beautiful lands you never dreamed of seeing.
Detach yourself from responsibilities
You might be thinking, “It is hard to let go when I have all of these responsibilities!” Trust me, I hear you. I too have responsibilities that attach something to me. A name. A purpose. A role.
But I am also not afraid to detach myself from these responsibilities once in a while. I am not afraid of having fun or putting on another name. I am not afraid of throwing useless goods away or breaking away from relationships that burden me.
If I do not need it, I do not buy into it. You should do the same. I guarantee that when the world is not encapsulated into your smartphone or television screen, and you stop thinking that it is these things that make the world more fulfilling, life will suddenly become infinitely more fascinating.
More: 7 Awesome Ways to Radiate Positive Energy
Start small
You do not have to uproot yourself from where you are. Nor do you have to burn every bridge. Begin small, by looking at all of your possessions and realizing how little you actually need to be happy.
Look to your relationships, your memories, and your experiences to figure out where value really should be placed. I think you will be surprised to learn that the present you receive from your family is not as valued as the family itself. Float on the emotions instead of grasping for the rocks.
Do not be afraid of the possibilities swimming all around you. When you finally let go, everything you ever dreamed of will rise up from the depths to catch you. 1