When you’ve spent a lot of time dwelling on what’s happened, it can be difficult to choose to stop reliving it. Particularly if it’s something that’s had a major impact on your life, it’s challenging to even choose to let it go because it’s often become a part of who you think you are. But who you are is completely up to you right now. Yes, the past has impacted and influenced you, but it isn’t you. As Kesha wrote here, “Your past only has as much effect on your future as you want it to.” It’s tempting to brush these words off, to consider them an overly simplistic take on letting go, but there’s a deep truth in them.
So much of letting go of the past comes down to actually choosing to do it, which, by itself, is a very simple act. The hard part is getting to the point where you’re ready to make that choice. Letting the past go leads to liberation, to the release of a part how you’ve come to identify yourself. Even if you know it would be best for your mental and emotional health to move forward, actively making choices that help you do that is hard, especially true if the past plays a large role in your self-identity.
Your happy ending’s up to you, and you have to decide if you want it. You know, deep down, what you’d be better off without. You know what you should let go of. You know. Knowledge is power, but action is what matters. It’s not easy; there’s no doubt about that. But in every moment, every thought, you have the chance to choose redemption. You cannot change the past, but you learn to let go, giving yourself a chance for live the life you deserve now. Because, really, it’s never too late to have a happy ending.
