In life, as in juggling, success depends less on what we catch 
than on how quickly we can let go. Failure to let go of what we have 
already lost increases our suffering and ineffectiveness during life’s 19
inevitable transitions. 
 
Now, suppose you are an innocent recipient of misfortune 
or abuse. You did nothing to deserve the loss. You have a right to be 
resentful and angry. If you accept it gracefully, you may feel like 
you are endorsing an injustice or letting somebody or something 
off too easily. 
 
Nonetheless, it’s still advisable to let go and “forgive” as 
quickly as you can. Do this for one reason only — it’s good for you. 
Harboring resentment, no matter how justified it may be, imprisons 
the resenter, while making no impact on the situation. It drains 
energy and limits options. Letting go is something we do for the 
benefit of no one but ourselves. 
 
But it is not easy. The more important the loss, the harder it 
is to release our grip. This is where the issue of priorities, raised 
earlier, becomes important. We must not allow difficulty in letting 
go of the more important issues to stand in the way of our releasing 
what we can. Every little bit helps free us to be more resourceful 
and effective in our responses. 
 
Humor nature provides an effective and practically effortless 
way of letting go — laughter. We cannot laugh without letting go. 
Believe me, I’ve tried and it gave me a hernia. 
 
If you are able to let go, it may be only for today. Tomorrow 
may require a renewed effort, since resentments have a way of 
building back up, with or without justification. 
 
Perhaps you will find this exercise helpful: 

Exercise #6: 
 
Begin by letting the little things go. There may be things in 
your life that you can’t forgive right now. That’s certainly 
understandable, but it doesn’t have to stop you. 
 
To practice this exercise, all we really need is the willingness 
to release the things that we can. Each little bit helps. Every time we 
let go of a small resentment we increase the likelihood of eventually 
being free of our bigger ones. 
 
Start with the easy ones and work your way up