There’s much to be said about looking backwards, about using your past to guide you, about learning from your mistakes. There’s much to be said about holding out, hanging on, fighting for what you believe in for as long as you can. There’s much to be said about wondering what could have been and trying to reach for it, even when a person or situation feels far from your grasp.
But then, there’s much to be said about letting go.
When you let go, you choose to let the cards of this life play out in your open palm. You allow yourself to be led, to be guided, and to embrace whatever comes. When you let go, you realize you simply cannot keep bad from coming, or the good from never falling on your path. You learn that people will disappoint you, walk away from you, leave you when you need them the most—but none of that dictates what you’ll do or where you’ll go next.
When you let go, you decide to let the past be the past, and watch ‘what could have been’ simply float away. You give life the chance to surprise you, teach you, heal you, as you willingly shed the heaviness that’s been holding you back for so long.
So instead of wondering over the maybes, the almosts, the could-haves, would-haves, give yourself hope.
Give yourself the freedom to move on, to say goodbye to what is not meant for you, to walk away from people and situations that are only bringing you down. Give yourself room to grow, to leave the past in the past, to rebuild, right from where you are. Give yourself possibility; rather than focusing on what didn’t come to fruition, see what could, what will.
And look to the future with open arms.
Instead of wondering about the person who left, about the words you never said, about the people who walked in and out of your life, about the memories you lost along the way, see what the world has in store for you next.
See the promise of a new day, a new person, a new beginning. See the chance you get to start over, to start something strange and wonderful, to start the day with a smile on your face.
Instead of wondering about what you didn’t have, what you missed, or what you lost, have hope.
Have hope for the sunrise. Have hope for laughter with strangers. Have hope for good meals with good friends under a dark, star-filled sky. Have hope for conversations. Have hope for relationships. Have hope for the strength you will gain as you shed the skin of the past and step forward.
Instead of looking down, look up. 
