Dear Friend,
I have to admit something... I can’t seem to let go of the past.
I know all the sayings about living in the present and forgiving what’s behind you, but still, I find myself drifting back.
Sometimes it’s to the good memories, the kind that make me smile at the thought of who I used to be. Other times, it’s to the ones that ache, the ones that sit heavy on my chest, no matter how many times I tell myself to move on.
There are moments that play in my head like a film on repeat. Something I said that I wish I hadn’t, something I didn’t say that I wish I did, a choice I made that changed everything, or a chance I didn’t take because I was scared. I’ll catch myself in the middle of the day, replaying the same moment for the hundredth time, wondering what could’ve been different if I had just done something else.
The truth is, I think I hold on for a mix of reasons, whether it’s regret, guilt, fear, nostalgia, or even comfort.
The past, for all its pain, is familiar. It’s known. The future isn’t. And sometimes, it feels safer to sit in the memories of what was, even if it hurts, than to step into what’s next and risk being hurt again.
But I’ve learned something about the past.
The more you grip it, the more it grips you back. You start living in the echo of what was instead of the possibility of what could be.
There was a time I couldn’t stop replaying a moment that broke me, and I mean really broke me into a version of myself that I still can’t even recognize today. I kept thinking if I could just understand it, maybe I could fix it. But closure didn’t come, and life kept moving without my permission. Eventually, I realized I wasn’t meant to rewrite that story. Instead, I was meant to outgrow it.
And maybe that’s the quiet beauty of the past. It doesn’t disappear, it transforms.
Every version of who you’ve been still lives somewhere inside you, whether it’s the brave one, the broken one, the one who didn’t know better yet. They all led you here. They all taught you something.
You don’t have to forget the past to move on from it. You just have to stop living there.
So if you find yourself caught between what was and what’s next, take a deep breath.
Thank the past for what it gave you: the lessons, the laughter, even the pain. Then, gently remind yourself that you deserve peace more than you deserve answers.
You’ve spent enough time looking back.
The question now is: what could your life look like if you finally let yourself move forward?
With love,
Grace Street