If we want to be free from old habits that are possibly holding us back in life, we need to find a way to let them go. Is it an old way of thinking, is it an old attitude that does not serve us well anymore? Are we, in fact, blaming others for our problems instead of taking the initiative and finding solutions?
If someone comes into conflict with us, we can end the friction by letting go of the matter. If we think that we will be in peace only when the other person stops creating conflict, then after one conflict ends, another one will start. How long are we going to wait for others to change so that we can be free of troubles?
Obstacles and tests of various kinds confront us from time to time. In school, do we pass exams when we study well or do we pass only if the questions are easy? Similarly, in life it is up to us to pass or fail or complain. Situations will not change for our sake and it is our job to overcome them.
In the journey of self-improvement, we are sometimes attached to a person, place or object, or we lack a virtue or power. But if we are unaware of these shortcomings, we make no effort to remove them, and instead we make excuses for why we cannot progress.
The result is that we become tired of ourselves, and sometimes tired of others. We hold on to our weaknesses and expect others to do something for us, forgetting that we just need to let go. A bird cannot fly if it keeps holding on to a branch, no matter how much it flaps its wings. No one can help it fly if it does not let go of what it is holding.
