Here I am again. I haven’t typically had a very good relationship with Januarys and I am meeting this one the way I meet everything: with cautious optimism. It’s a brand new year and it’s an even numbered year which makes me feel better already. It’s off to a rocky start though, and so I’m choosing, in this moment, to begin again.

I thought I would have a lot more answers by now. I thought I would have all the clarity and confidence that I’m constantly seeking. I thought I would feel ready. I thought I would be brave. I thought I would know the secret to happiness. But none of those things have happened for me yet, and so this is my one new year’s resolution: let go.

Let go of feelings, especially the ones that make you feel inadequate.

Let go of your mask, because people would like to see you.

Let go of fear, especially the fear of not being enough.

Let go of control, because your spirit should be wild.

Let go of despair, because hope is not crazy.

Let go of your voice, because silence can be just as loud.

Let go of responsibility, because you cannot fix people on your own.

Let go of insecurity, because confidence is more beautiful than skinny arms and single chins.

Let go of what is stopping you, for the world begs to be seen.

Let go of comparison, because there is no room for love there. 

Let go of your heart, especially now when it breaks the most, because new things can be planted in its place.

To love is the bravest thing there is. As so many of my friends get married I see it more clearly. I saw it the night before my friend Lizzie’s wedding when we walked down the grassy aisle in the dark to make sure her heels weren’t going to sink into the dirt.  I saw it yesterday when I said an uncertain goodbye to my best friend as she stood there in her wedding dress, and we said how proud we were of one another. I see it in the things that we let go of for love.

Everyone’s adventure looks different, but the best adventures are so full of love that bravery comes accidentally. We are young and we are unsure, but we are ready. May we let go of anything that keeps us from loving.

Happy New Year