COURAGE OF LETTING GO

A dear friend of mine recently talked about his grief when he finally decided to let go of someone he loves dearly. Many people often say that if you love someone, you should let him or her go. Whether or not to let go is one's issue. To hold on to a losing ‘battle’ and losing your dignity is another.

The very first notion would be if the person comes back to you, then he or she is yours. But if he or she doesn’t then he or she was never meant to be.

However, no one in his right mind would let someone he loves go. Yet, we all want to do the right thing because if we ever want to look back, we want to be able to say that at least, at one time in our lives; we were once generous and brave. Still the cost of magnanimity and courage, believe it or not, hurts.

The truth is when someone we love pulls away from us, our first instinct is to hold on. We hold because the thought of losing the one person we love is just too painful to bear. And in our pain, we lose sight of what is sane and only see the need to stop him or her from fleeing and so instead of giving way, we block the path of their getaway.

But it is absolute madness to cling on to someone who perhaps no longer wants you. So let the person go. What are you afraid of? That he or she won’t come back? The truth is that you can’t really hold on to someone who doesn’t want you anymore, so there really is no point in holding on. You might as well let go with dignity and grace. Hold your head high and let go. But this is no easy task. It will take a lot of courage, patience and time.

Letting go is difficult because it is against human nature. It is just like saying “No” when all you wanted to say is “Yes”. It is resisting the flow, going against the wind and is like walking away when all you wanted to do is stay. It is transcending our humanity and rising to our divinity. Letting go commands us to be larger than life.


Ultimately, it is vital to let go only when you are ready. Don’t be so hard on yourself if you can’t let go. No one ever said it would be easy. But if you know what is good for you, then you must learn to do what is hard and painful. For if you really want to know if this love is meant for you, then, you must have the courage to submit to its ultimate test.

Of course it will be terrifying and painful. And if he doesn’t come back, then of course it will be devastating. But surely, there will be life after the tears and the heartbreak, if you can let go of your love and hold on to your faith.


I think that all stories can end happily. They may not always end the way we wanted them to but then who wants a boring and predictable story anyway? I, for one, am certainly against monotonous tedious endings.


They say it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. But I personally say it is better to have loved and let go then to have loved and held on to the unworthy one.