03/06/2026
Looking forward, not behind.
HOW TO LET GO OF THE PAST?
A WONDERFUL ANSWER BY A BUDDHIST MONK
A woman once asked an old Buddhist monk:
βHow do I let go of my past?
The memories still hurt me.
The regrets still follow me.
No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to move on.β
The old monk smiled gently and asked her:
βIf you carried a heavy bag of stones on your back for many years...
what would happen?β
The woman replied,
βMy body would become exhausted and weak.β
The monk nodded.
βYour mind works the same way.
Every regret, betrayal, heartbreak, guilt, and painful memory you refuse to release becomes another stone you continue to carry.β
The woman asked,
βBut how do I stop carrying it?β
The monk picked up a glass of water and held it before her.
βIf I hold this glass for one minute, it feels light.
If I hold it for one hour, it begins to hurt.
If I hold it all day, my arm becomes numb and useless.
The weight never changed.
Only the length of time I chose to hold it.β
Then he looked at her and said:
βYour past is much the same.
The pain may be real...
but much of your suffering comes from holding onto it long after the moment has passed.β
The woman lowered her head quietly.
βBut I donβt know how to let go,β she whispered.
The monk replied:
βYou let go by accepting that the past cannot be changed.
By forgiving yourself for who you were when you knew less than you know today.
By understanding that pain often teaches lessons that comfort never could.
And by realizing that you do not have to keep punishing yourself to prove that you have learned those lessons.β
Then he smiled and said:
βThe past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.
Visit it only to learn...
never to live there forever.β
Sometimes healing is not about forgetting what happened.
It is about putting down the weight you were never meant to carry for the rest of your life.