Forgive. Let go.

I see forgiving and letting go as two of the essential and ongoing tasks of life. So when I recently read an interview with Barbara Walters and one of her topics was letting go, I took notice.

Walters said, "Kitty Carlisle Hart once said to me that she looked in the mirror before going to bed and said, 'Kitty, I forgive you.' I've never forgotten. If there's something that's been troubling me that I can't do anything about, in my own mind, I close the door."

First of all, how wise of Kitty Carlisle Hart to forgive herself each night. It's not easy to forgive others. Forgiving ourselves is often even more difficult. We do well to follow Hart's practice.

And then simply letting go of things about which we can do nothing just makes sense, doesn't it? I sometimes catch myself worrying a problem to death even though I'm helpless to really change or solve it. More often now, I do try to let it go. Let go, let go, let go, Sonia, I tell myself.

How are you on that score? It's good to ask yourself that from time to time. Our lives are much happier and freer when we can stay clear by forgiving and letting go.