Keep the Good Stuff
Author: John Cane
Yesterday I went to a ZZ Top concert in Lewiston, New York. Yes I am of that era. I haven’t been to a concert in a while and it’s funny how you can forget certain details about such experiences. I often wondered why these types of concerts (bands of the 70s and 80s) still bring so many people out, not only of my age group but of a much younger age as well (which is pretty cool).
It was everything I expected it to be as for dealing with traffic, parking, the crowds, etc. But the thing that stands out the most to me is the feeling I get when I hear the music of a past time, which is associated with good experiences. My friend Bonnie put it most succinctly when she said, “This is what the ‘80s were all about—having fun!” And yes…she was yelling at the time. Now as the evening wore on, our current age reminded us that we weren’t in our twenties anymore; which is fine because it is what it is. However, the endorphins were still flowing. Oh and by the way, endorphins are the natural hormone that kill pain, heal, boost your immune system and are an anti-aging hormone (just food for thought). As a matter of fact, ‘Reminiscence therapy‘ is used to maintain good health in the elderly.
Why do I mention this blast from the past after featuring two consecutive articles on letting go of the past? Because thoughts create feelings and the mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. Unfortunately we misuse our imagination sometimes instead of allowing it to serve us in happy and healthy ways. We may have some “stuff” we need to let go of to be healthier granted, but sometimes we don’t need to get rid of all of it. Below are quotes to consider when going through your “stuff” on what to keep and what to throw away. A question you might ask yourself which may be helpful in this process is, “Does this serve my peace of mind or do I need to let it go?”
Celebrate endings – for they precede new beginnings. — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
— Mary Anne Radmacher
Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
— Raymond Lindquist
Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
— Dr. Seuss
Every exit is an entry somewhere.
— Tom Stoppard
Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.”
— Ann Landers
I choose not to project my past onto my future.
— Jonathan Lockwood Huie
I recognize that the person I was in my past is not the person I am today.
— Jonathan Lockwood Huie
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
— Maya Angelou
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
— Albert Einstein
Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. Life’s too short to be anything… but happy.
— – Anonymous
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.
— – Helen Keller
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
— Albert Einstein
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
— Vivian Greene
It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.
— – H. L. Mencken
Marriage has no guarantees.
— Erma Bombeck
If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.
One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us.
— Michael Cibenko
One’s first love is always perfect until one meets one’s second love.
— – Elizabeth Aston
Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.
— Herman Hesse
Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.
— Anonymous
There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.
— Anonymous
We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say goodbye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can’t turn the hourglass over.
— Unknown
We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.
— Joseph Campbell
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
— Lao Tzu
When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
— Alexander Graham Bell
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.
— Swedish Proverb
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
— C. S. Lewis
Quotes by Letting GoQuotes
About the author: John Cane is a Motivational Speaker who has inspired over 100,000 teenagers and adults. John has been a writer and editor for eighteen years. He has taught over 200 different training programs, written and published two books, and wrote/ co-produced a ‘Safe Choices for Teens’ DVD. John was President of the Carolina Screenwriters Association from 2006-2007. He is an instructor and acting coach for The Film Actors Studio of Charlotte and Carolina Talent.
