Let go to protect yourself

Việt Văn |

On the weekend morning, the neighbor stood in front of a pot of laurels that had dried almost completely in the garden, his hand stroking the tree trunk, as if stroking a memory, then sighed and said to him: "I've been trying to take care of it for almost a year. Just thought for a moment more that there would be a miracle, but then I accepted to let go". Then he made a pot of strong tea to invite him and the two sat silently. He suddenly thought that perhaps in life, the most difficult thing is not to start, but to accept that there are things that have come the time to be let go.

People are often taught to be persistent. That's not wrong. Without perseverance, no success is strong enough to stand firm. But life also has times when stubbornness only exhausts us. We continue to cling to a job that no longer gives us joy, a relationship that only has scratches left, a dream that no longer belongs to us, just because we are afraid of the feeling of failure.

We often confuse perseverance and clinging. Some people spend many years hoping for an apology to come. Some people keep a marriage forever for fear of losing a familiar relationship for many years, while the family fire has cooled down. Some people hug a friendship forever that only they themselves actively text. They don't leave, not because they are still happy, but because they regret the years that have passed.

But the time spent is not a reason to continue staying in a place that is hurting you. He remembers a friend who used to work in a large company. Ten years of attachment, you almost had no days off. In return, it was a dream salary and a title that many people admired. However, what you received more were sleepless nights, hasty meals and an increasingly weak body. Until the doctor said that if you continued like that, your heart would not be able to bear it anymore, you resigned. A year later, he met again. The friend opened a small wood workshop in the suburbs, the income was not as good as before, but his eyes were much calmer. You smiled, saying like a philosopher: "It turns out I didn't lose my job. I just got my life back".

Sometimes, letting go is not about losing, but refusing things that are no longer worthy, taking away our time, health and peace. We often hug memories tighter than we hug the present. We hold onto a saying that hurt us many years ago, hold onto a past failure, hold onto someone who has turned their back, hold onto things that they themselves have let go for a long time. Letting go has never been easy. It requires no less courage than at the beginning. But there are doors that close not to end a journey, but to open a brighter path.

Life is shorter than we think. Don't use precious years to try to revive a dead pot, while there are still so many seeds waiting to be sown.

Việt Văn
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