28/05/2026
This💖
HOW TO LET GO OF THE PAST?
A BEAUTIFUL ANSWER BY A BUDDHIST MONK
A woman once asked an old Buddhist monk:
“How do I let go of my past?
The memories still hurt me.
The regrets still haunt me.
No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to move on.”
The monk smiled gently and asked her:
“If you carried a heavy bag of stones on your back for many years… what would happen?”
The woman replied,
“My body would become weak and exhausted.”
The monk nodded.
“Your mind works the same way.
Every heartbreak, betrayal, regret, guilt, and painful memory you refuse to release becomes another stone you continue carrying.”
The woman looked down and whispered,
“But how do I stop carrying it?”
The monk picked up a glass of water and held it in front of her.
“If I hold this for one minute, it feels light.
If I hold it for one hour, it becomes painful.
If I hold it all day, my arm becomes numb.
The weight never changed.
Only the amount of time I kept holding it did.”
Then he looked into her eyes and said:
“Your past is the same.
The pain may be real…
but much of your suffering comes from holding onto it long after the lesson has been learned.”
The woman sat silently.
The monk smiled warmly and said:
“Forgive yourself for who you were when you knew less.
Growth requires mistakes.
Healing requires acceptance.
The past is meant to teach you, not imprison you.
Visit it only for wisdom…
not as a place to live forever.”
