Rabbi Larry Malinger
Letting Go
Many of us are burdened by unresolved anger and hostility – at so many people and places that we interact in our lives. Frequently we turn this anger inward against ourselves. We burden ourselves with guilt – some real, but mostly imagined. “I should have said this,” “or not said this,” or, “I could have done (or not done) that,” or, “coulda, shoulda, woulda . . .” – the most corrosive words in the English language because they can destroy personality and make people live their lives in a self-created fantasy of their past.
It’s hard to let go. It’s hard to let go of all of the cares and troubles and concerns and rationalizations that we carry with us. Somehow we think that we are so important, that our cares and our perspectives are so vital, that we can’t possibly put them down. As we enter a new year, it occurs to me that this is a good time to reflect on what we are carrying into the year ahead, and what, perhaps, we might be able to let go?
This season calls upon us to let go of anger, hostility, and guilt and to forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is the key to understanding this season and to unlocking our own hearts. Forgiveness of others for their slights, wrongs and for inflicting pain, whether by word or deed, whether intentionally or accidentally, only works when we muster the strength to let go of our own accumulated destructive feelings and forgive ourselves.
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