Let Go and Release

On New Year’s Day, we write a short list of things we want to let go of. It could be an attitude, like anger, or shame, disappointment in self or others, or giving the shove-off to excess weight.

What would you list on a sheet of paper? Would you want a legal, letter, or note-sized paper to write your let-gos?

In the first years I participated, it was a group participation with fellow churchgoers. Tiny pieces of flash paper were handed out. I always felt we had to think and write quickly because once everyone had their papers, someone would come back around to retrieve them. A large fireproof receptacle was at the front, and we all watched as a participant placed the notes in it and set them on fire

The Burning Bowl fire incinerated the papers and all the “things” we had rid ourselves of - begone, useless thoughts and habits. We cleansed our psyches of them!

It is a reset for your brain. Watching your list of ‘let-gos’ burn wipes them from your brain, thoughts, and consciousness.

(I sometimes wonder if it would have been better to have a copy to remind us if we had a setback and reverted to stinkin’ thinking. However, honestly, doing that would most likely have defeated the intended purpose. If you believe that thoughts are things, then you want to concentrate on good.)

For over twenty years, the ritual continued in our backyard, using a fireproof bucket. Participants can select the paper size they want to use. I was stuck on letter-size paper. Why? I had a lot to get rid of! Writing this list was the one time that I was not my usual minimalist self. There’s no flash paper in our house - I have been too lazy to search for it, although it works well because it burns quickly. Anyone who wanders through the house, opening drawers and cupboards, may find a blue mug inscribed with a company name, filled with yellow, green, red, blue, and black ballpoints, some with caps, some without; ergonomic pens, along with ink or gel ones; fine-point, thick, or thin markers. Notebooks with spiral binding in letter size, or small notes sent by organizations with logos or my name printed on them, don’t give much room to write, but burn quickly! Obviously, no one will lack writing materials to create their list to burn.

Over the years, I have graduated to using smaller paper, not because I have less to wipe out of my life, but because it hurts my wrist to write, and I have learned to be brief and abbreviate words on the burn notice. The fire doesn’t need an entire tome of my let-gos. Shoot, I could use a bubblegum comic paper (do they still have those?) and the fire would be pleased. It is the thought and ritual that count, not the number of words, sentences, or items on the written document. Just let it go...

Preferably on January 1st (but occasionally a few days later), we will spend fifteen to thirty minutes writing down what we want to release. In years past, some of mine included sentences such as I let go of impatience. I release annoyance at (fill in the blank). I let go and release my old residence. (It was painful to leave a house we had lived in for twenty years with so many wonderful memories.)

We will write our let-gos and stand together in the backyard while my husband lights them on fire, being careful not to let sparks fly (it will probably be raining, significantly reducing danger). The ashes will get a little prayer for release, followed by one to affirm joy, prosperity, health, and love in the new year. We will dump the ashes into our green bin with the detritus, just a tiny pile of ashes, burned, but lastly, blessed.

Copyright © 12/15/2025 by Andrea O. Corwin

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