Question: “How does one let go of something that really hurt them in the past?”
You partially just answered your own question! “The past” is something we all tend to forget about. We forget that it is history, no longer touchable or attainable, yet we cling to it as if we’ll be able to fix it if we think about it hard enough! No.
Sometimes it’s really difficult to let go of something we did in the past. We linger on things we wished we said or did, or said or did differently, or handled situations differently. Sometimes there are things to mend our past mistakes, whether by physically or verbally saying/doing something.
Regardless, until we can invent a time machine, we can’t go back and changed things. Instead, we need to accept what happened and move on. The longer we dwell on the past, the longer we’ll continue to suffer. If there is something we can do to alleviate what was said/done, then great. If not, then we need to just “suck it up” and accept it.
We meditate on what went wrong, accept that it has happened and is done, and learn to move forward. Without acceptance, we’ll continue to suffer from our own doing.
Smile and be well!