Yesterday I began the day by cleaning out my garage. I had piles of things old and new. I would hold these things up to the light and decide wether they still brought me joy and service and if they didn't I threw them out. Half-way through the mindless ordeal I realized how this was a metaphor for what we should be doing with our mental storage space. We could really benefit from letting go of thoughts, memories, and relationships that no longer bring us joy or value. And by allowing yourself to detach from the clutter you make room for new things that will bring you joy.
How do we go about letting go of these memories, thoughts, and relationships that no longer serve us? We simply forgive ourselves first and foremost. That can take many forms. Letter writing for closure is a great place to start. Another exercise is simple mindful meditation where you internally forgive yourself and decide to move on with full intention and effort to make better decisions going forward. If it is something that someone else did to you then you must learn how to let that go. It is not easy and of course takes daily maintenance in some serious cases. But you must realize that this is the only way to bring forward the quality of life that you deserve. A life void of that negativity that happened to you. We cannot control what happens to us but we can control how we react to what happens to us. We have to be at peace with the fact that by letting go of that memory and pain we are letting go of the poison and darkness associated with negative thought.