As 2013 draws towards its close, like most of us, I’m doing some reflection on the past year.

There's always been something about the prospect of a having a clean slate and a fresh start that has always inspired me. Over the years I've made my share of New Year's resolutions, resolving to do this or that, or becoming more or less of something else.

But one of the things that's frequently forgotten in the anticipation of the glittering promise of the New Year is leaving the past year behind and letting go.

Letting go of what we want to do differently.

Letting go of what didn't work, what wasn't meant to be, of what we can’t change.

Letting go of regret.

Letting go of loss.

Letting go of the fear.

Letting go of so many things, depending on what we're talking about.

We can get so caught up in the getting to where we want to go part that we don't even realize all the baggage we're still carrying around with us.

Because it's only when we let go that we open ourselves up to all that's still to come.

It’s only when we let go that we allow ourselves to move forward instead of backward.

It’s only when we let go that we can see what’s been there all along, but we couldn't see before.

No matter how much we believe we have every right to keep hanging on, no matter how much we convince ourselves that it's serving us well to keep holding on, it doesn't.

It serves us nothing to keep holding on like this to whatever, or whoever, we're holding onto so tightly.

Yes, you may have every right to be angry, you may have every right to be devastated. But where does that get you? What does that do for you, my beautiful friend?

Whatever happened, whatever didn't happen, whatever should have happened according to you, what does holding onto that get you now?

That's right. Nowhere.

It only eats away at you, tears you apart, and leaves you with nothing.

Enough of the past. Enough of what didn't work. Enough of all the trying, the endless second-guessing, the crawling, the begging, the pleasing, the endless beating ourselves up, lamenting what we could have had if only we had done or said something different.

Enough.

We can spin such a very powerful story around why we can't let go, why we have to keep hanging onto this, why we have to keep doing this to ourselves.  But we don't.

The truth is it's hurting us.

It's detrimental to our beautiful selves.

When we hang on to what was, we miss out on what is.

When we hang on to what could have been, we can't see what can be.

When we hang on to our story, we miss the new story that's just waiting to be told.

We all have our reasons.

We all have our stories.

What do you need to let go of? Let it go here and now.

I can't explain how it happens, but something changes when we finally let it go. Release it, let it go, and know that, in the long run, it doesn't really matter.

Later, when you look back on your life with the happy heart of your future self, you will see how small this was in the grand scheme of things. You'll see how even this was part of your journey, as much as you don't see it now.

Looking back at 2013, what do you need to let go of once and for all? Share it with us here in the comments as we support each other on this journey of letting go.