“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning — So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Letting go is perhaps one of the hardest struggles we face as humans. Just as Jay Gatsby refused to let go of the past and his love and obsession for Daisy Faye, we hold on to almost everything we can: toxic relationships, childhood hurts, and chapters of our lives that we just can’t turn the page on.
We hate change. We refuse to deal with our waterfall of emotions, and we live in life in “survivor mode.” We learn how to cope instead of living life to its fullest.
While learning how to move onto a new chapter myself, I’ve discovered a few ways to actually master the art of letting go:
1. Write it out
Writing is one of the best outlets. Get out a piece of paper, a pen and let out your frustrations in words.
2. Cry
Stop trying to push down your emotions with ice cream and more homework assignments, and actually take the time to grieve. Avoiding emotions makes it absolutely impossible to let go.
3. Put yourself out there for new things
We can’t move on when we only surround ourselves with memories of the past. Meet new peoples, get involved in new clubs, turn the page on a new chapter instead of staying stuck on the past.
I included the Fitzgerald quote at the beginning because it’s one of the most beautifully written examples of what life looks like when we stay stuck in the past. I wear that quote on a necklace almost everyday to remind myself that letting go is always a better choice than being miserable while everyone else has moved on.