There are things in the past that are difficult to let go of.
A personal challenge has been admitting those feelings are in the present. If we are going to put emotions into the past, it seems reasonable to first admit they are in the present.
It seems all too easy to want to hastily push those feelings into the past, without really taking ownership of them. Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the process is admitting those feelings exist in the first place.
I’m not even sure it is only about admitting something is in the present when it comes to releasing emotions and letting go of the past, even though this may be a key factor.
Another aspect seems to be how those emotions serves you. If you perceive that the emotion is serving you, then its place among you is justified.
There is a feeling/emotion which has been a large part of my life. Something I've noticed is that this feeling has justification.
Perhaps we imagine that we cannot live without those emotions. For example, the emotion is protecting us. A justification like protection gives that emotions a reason to reside in the first place. As long as it receives that justification, there is likely little incentive to leave.
In the case of protection, those defensive feelings may be intertwined with the intensity of the emotion. Which may play into the difficulty of letting go in the first place.
Another type of justification is solace in that feeling. For instance, we may find solace in feeling hatred for something or someone because we believe it somehow punishes them or changes the situation. Even though that feeling of hatred may be surrounded great distress, comfort may be found on some level.
I've listed a couple examples of justification. See if you can think of any.