"If you love someone, let them go."
This quote ignites one of the deepest debates about life. Is this honestly true, that one can love a person yet still be willing to let them go? Or even love is the only force that makes you willing to let go and give them freedom?
If these questions resonate with you, you're in the right place. In this post, we'll explore:
- The meaning of "If you love something, let it go"
- How to love and let go
- Fight for love or let go?
- Let go vs. giving up
- How to let go of the person you love
- Letting go and having them back
Whether you're just dating or in a relationship, this book has advice to set you straight regarding whether this love you've found is worth further commitment or if you've got to let it go.
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| Photo: Freepik |
What's the Meaning of "If You Love Something, Let It Go"?
The saying "If you love something, let it go" suggests that even though you have feelings for somebody or something, love can cease by choice. This often presents itself when the going gets tough and just loving someone isn't sufficient.
- You may need to let go if .
- Your core values clash
- You don't feel valued
- There's a lack of respect or appreciation
- Your life paths diverge
- You wonder if they truly do love you
In such cases, letting go would mean letting go of the relationship that is not flowering. It would involve accepting the facts, stepping back, and acknowledging that things are not all meant to be or, at the very least, not at that particular moment or occasion.
Can You Love Someone But Let Them Go?
Can you genuinely love someone yet feel the need to part ways? Having experienced this personally, I’ve wrestled with this thought. Ultimately, I’ve concluded that it is indeed possible.
It is an act of profound love to realize that you can't meet their needs and let them go. This means choosing their happiness over and above what you so desire. It may mean all the passion that goes together with seeing someone you love seek the fullness of life and hold on to love at the same time.
For example, consider a commitment phobe who has been cheated on. If he or she meets someone they do love and is accepted by a monogamous person, it will be agonizingly impossible to let go even though love prescribes, "you must care for that person" even through separation.
Should You Fight for Love or Let It Go?
Love is difficult in perfect conditions. It requires trust in your partner's good intentions and belief in support from them, but trust is very fragile. It can often be broken, and you end up in the battle to fight for relationship worth.
But that doesn't mean you should give up so easily. Relationships grow and evolve through ups and downs over the years. What is coming out here is assessing consistency: do your partner's actions march along with their words, and are these reliable over time?
In the first mission of a relationship, most couples derive their ideal self; perfection is sort of painted, but it's often falsely transient. Over time, you may realize that the person you thought you were dating is not the person you are dating anymore. If this new reality is not something with which you are compatible, then it's probably a relationship not worth the struggle.
Certain red flags suggest a relationship is not worth saving :
- Differences in the level of respect that you have for each other
- Lack of mutuality
- In a situation that makes you feel diminished or insecure
- In any type of abuse
However, some scenarios are quite gray about whether you should choose to walk away. You may be the most benevolent and kind-hearted individuals to have ever met, but differences in the most critical of life goals: medium, career priorities, or where you shall set up base. If these kinds of differences are perceived to be irreconcilable, then perhaps it is proper to walk away.
Does Letting Go Mean Giving Up?
When you get to the point of thinking of breaking up, it doesn't mean that you are losing the relationship. It can be an act of love and self-worth. Letting go gives both people a chance to find paths that will lead them to what they really desire and want in life.
How to Let Go of Someone You Love
It is really hard to do—let go of a beloved person. However, it is a process where one usually needs both time and emotional strength. Here are some steps that might guide you on your way through:
- Acknowledge Your Feelings: Give yourself permission to feel hurt. Whether it's sadness, anger, or confusion, acknowledge these feelings as real. Writing in a journal can help clarify your thoughts and feelings.
- Set Boundaries: After you decide to break up, setting physical and emotional boundaries is a very crucial step. This may involve minimum or no contacts. Maybe the continuous contact with the other person is just an obstacle in the process of healing and letting go.
- Focus on Yourself: Be good to yourself and grow as close as possible to yourself. Get involved in some hobbies, make contact with your old friends, or chase your new interests. Broadly speaking, attempting to make a life out of the relationship can be great for healing.
- Seek Support: Be with trusted friends or family that can offer emotional support. Sometimes, talking things out with someone dispels part of the burden and offers fresh perspectives.
- Reflect on the Relationship: Consider what you've learned from this connection. Acknowledging the good received and the lessons learned will help in your growth and get you ready for other relationships in the future.
Is It True If You Let Someone Go They Will Come Back?
There is this common idea that maybe someone will come back after you let them go. It's not certain, but it's possible. Letting go gives the chance to have space. Sometimes a distance between two people helps them return to their senses and makes a person know what he or she got and how to value it back.
But it's also important not to wait for their return to grieve. Focus on your life and your path, and understand that you deserve to be happy whether they return or not.
It's really complicated to get love right. That's the delicate balance in "if you love something, let it go". Whether you fight for the relationship or let it go, whatever you choose to do, let that choice be for you and your well-being. Indeed, truly loving often means making the hardest choices for the greatest results—for you and the people you really care about.
Understand, that no matter what road you end up walking, you will not be doing so alone, and there is, indeed, hope for recovery and a fresh start.