Why 2016 Was The Year Of Letting Go

Who would have thought that 2016 was going to be a tough one? This year has been filled with a lot of goodbyes, both sad and beautiful, but if there is one thing that 2016 has taught us, then it would have been the art of letting go.

This year, you have learned that no matter how much you love something or someone and no matter how much they love you back, love cannot guarantee that they will stay. You realized that the stronger you love, the scarier it gets. It’s harder to let go because the investment of sincerity has become too big. Great things come to an end and it doesn’t matter how much you love them because when it’s time for them to go, they will go.

And when they did, you cried and your heart broke into a million pieces. You were forced to cling on to the memories of what you used to have and at the same time, forced to accept that they were really gone. They will not be a part of your life anymore. And then you realized that you can always prepare for the ending but no amount of preparation will ever help you deal with the sadness that consumes you when the time comes. Sometimes, all you can ever do is watch the things you love go, and thank them for giving you a piece of who they are before they leave. It will be a sad goodbye, but you have learned that sad goodbyes have their own way of marking your life and that’s why they are beautiful.

But then, not all of this year’s goodbyes were beautiful. You lost relationships that never really even got a goodbye. You weren’t prepared because you were too busy fighting for them to stay. It hurts to be rejected and it hurts when people leave. If you could, you would have saved everyone because you didn’t want anyone to walk away. But 2016 was filled with people who were temporary. It was a year that taught you that you just can’t save everyone from walking out of your life. It was a year that introduced you to the concept of self-respect. It taught you that you cannot and should not beg for people to stay. If they decide to leave, then you should let them leave.

It’s been a rough couple of months but you understand it now: some people weren’t meant to be a part of your life and you will be in denial and be hurt at first, but that will pass and acceptance will follow. Many will leave, either by chance or by choice, but life continues. Life moves forward. And you have learned that for every person who leaves, you grow stronger. For every person who rejects you, you grow tougher.

And 2016 has made you that person.

You are stronger now, tougher, and more resilient, thanks to the people who left you when you needed them the most. It was at those moments that you learned to pick yourself up without anyone’s help. It was hard, it was tough, and it seemed impossible, but you made it.

So to all the people who walked out of your life this 2016, thank them for teaching you that you can live without them and that you are better without them in your life.

Surely, a lot of us were quite doubtful if we would make it by the end of the year, but here we are, just a few days away from greeting another year of upcoming challenges and life lessons. It seems quite so long ago when we just lost something or someone, when we thought that it was the end of the road, when we believed that there was no more hope. You still feel a pang of pain, or maybe a tad bit more when you remember them, but the thing is, you’re okay. You’re better than who you were when this year started. You’re okay now and you are ready for 2017.