Years ago, when I went to a fast-food place with my mom, I noticed a board in the corner covered with stickers. Many people had written related and unrelated messages on them and stuck them on the board. Following their lead, I grabbed a sticker to write something, but not a single word came out. That day we returned home, and hours later my thoughts were still stuck on those stickers. Why couldn’t I write anything? How had those people managed to write, but I couldn’t?

Days after that, the question kept spinning in my mind and was gradually becoming a crisis, leading me to realize that I simply couldn’t "let go" of what I wrote. I wanted to see everything I wrote and also watch the faces of those reading it. Everything connected to it had to remain with me. I couldn’t let go.

For centuries, humans wrote letters, put them in bottles, and tossed them into the sea. Centuries later, these bottles were found and read, even when the writers’ bones were long gone, let alone themselves. How could they do it? How could they write something and throw it into the sea without it affecting their present or future?

Earlier, I had a strong curiosity about the private lives of those I admired. For example, how did J.D. Salinger brush his teeth? What did Sadegh Hedayat wear to bed? How many cigarettes did Albert Camus smoke in a day? Another form of not letting go.

Not letting go has a major problem. When all the events and things in your life pile up, there’s no space left for newer things. All your time gets spent mentally resolving, analyzing, and theorizing about them, stealing the chance and time for new experiences.

Stewart Sivers also believes that to reach a desirable position, you must lose more than you gain. In other words, the skill and ability to let go.

Note: In general culture, not letting go is often frowned upon. Those who don’t let go are labeled as “clingy,” “annoying,” or “grumpy.” But I prefer the one who doesn’t let go.

After this introduction, I have 10 reasons why you should let go:

1. You don’t want your Aydin to burn, your Orhan to become Cain. (Symphony of the Dead)
2. You want to know what lies beyond the hill. (The One Who Went, The One Who Stayed)
3. You have the courage and ability to accept whatever comes after the present.
4. Against your will, your saliva can no longer produce spit to throw on the present.
5. You’re looking for someone/group that isn’t looking for you.
6. You have a goal that you haven’t taken steps toward in recent years, can’t take steps, or aren’t allowed to take steps toward.
7. You don’t know what you’ll do after university.
8. You haven’t made progress in your job or title over the past few years.
9. When you stand in front of the mirror, you wish you could smash it to pieces.
10. When you open your room window, you face a dilemma.

God asked Bayazid:
“Bayazid, what do you want?”
He said:
I want not to want. I wish to not want.
Rumi | Fihi Ma Fihi, Chapter 30

Related:

• 10+1 reasons why you should move on
• How to enjoy life?