Summary: Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future by Diego Perez

July 2024 · 17 minute read

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

Lighter (2022) guides anyone seeking self-improvement through the process of releasing the past and taking power over the future. It’s a combination of wisdom and proverbs as well as a practical guide for doing the inner work of self-healing.

Introduction: How to get over your biggest obstacle in life . . . yourself.

Let’s start by asking two questions: What dreams are you chasing? And, How close are you to achieving them?

If you’re getting in your own way, being held back by past trauma or addictions, or if you keep getting derailed by your own rage and depression, this summary might be able to shed light on the path forward. That path just happens to lead inward, into the inner workings of your mind, your emotions, and your past – all of the things that are controlling you.

The author, Yung Pueblo, discovered his path to healing after reaching the edge of death due to drug addiction and a life of pleasure-seeking. In his work, he talks about the healing journey and the power of actively working on your own growth so you can enjoy success and deeper relationships every day of your life. In this summary, we’ll share some of his stories and advice.

Whether you’ve already begun your process of intentional growth or are just getting started, this summary offers you actionable insights into a deeper understanding of why you react the way you do and how you can free yourself to achieve your goals in life.

Book Summary: Lighter - Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future

Love yourself first.

Self-love is where it all starts.

Loving yourself might sound like a mountain you’ll never be able to scale. Or maybe you’ve gone to the other extreme. Maybe after a lifetime of people treating you badly, you’ve decided to love yourself above all others.

Either way, it’s important to understand what self-love is not. It’s not materialistic. It’s not about giving yourself a spa day or treating yourself to ice cream because you deserve it. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, and they can be acts of self-care, but that’s not the self-love we’re talking about.

Self-love means having compassion for yourself and treating yourself with curiosity. It’s about seeking to understand yourself on a deeper level. It requires being brazenly honest with yourself at all times, building healthy habits, and accepting yourself unconditionally.

Being honest with yourself isn’t always easy. It means being able to face those moments that you’re embarrassed about or ashamed of and take responsibility for them. It means being able to admit when you’re wrong.

Accepting yourself means looking at those truths you’ve discovered through honesty and saying, “I’m human. I did something I’m ashamed of. And I am still worthy of love.” Of course, you still take responsibility for anything you’ve done, but you don’t wallow in self-blame.

All of this takes time. Building healthy habits is a long game, but you have to make a start. You can begin by being intentional with every action you take and choosing to do what’s best for you and your goals instead of just what feels good. The more you do this, the more self-love will become a habit.

Self-love may at times feel challenging or counterintuitive, but you truly cannot feel love from others if you don’t first know how to love yourself. You also can’t wait until you’ve healed yourself before you give yourself love. On the contrary, healing is an act of self-love.

Love yourself first. Then heal.

In the next section, we’ll look at how to heal from the inside.

Healing happens from the inside.

You may or may not have had a traumatic past. Whether your upbringing was peaceful or turbulent, it still affected you. The fact is, it’s during your youth – though you weren’t conscious enough to realize it – that your surroundings taught your brain how to react.

When you react impulsively now, that reaction is programmed based on past experiences. It’s not a reaction to the situation right now. For example, maybe as a young child your father disapproved of crying. Maybe instead of comforting you, he shamed you. Fast forward 30 years, you’re at work complaining about the coffee being too strong. A coworker walks by and tells you to stop whining about it, and without warning, you’re overwhelmed by anger and you lash out at them.

Now, whether or not the coworker meant anything malicious by the comment or was saying it jokingly, your reaction wasn’t because of their comment. Your reaction was because of a belief you acquired back before you were even fully conscious – the belief that crying was a sign of weakness and shame.

Just realizing the origin of your reactions is an important first step in healing. For our purposes, let’s define healing as reprogramming your brain from being in a reactionary or survival state to being in a conscious or logical state.

The next step is acknowledging that your reaction isn’t caused by things outside yourself but by past programming inside your brain. Whatever is triggering your reaction – in this case, a possibly innocuous comment from a coworker – isn’t the problem. How you’re responding to the emotion is the problem.

The most important thing you can do is allow yourself to feel an emotion without being controlled by it.

When that first emotional spike occurs, use the knowledge that this emotion is a reaction based on past experiences to pause, take a breath, and give yourself the space to ride the wave of the emotion. Once the initial feeling dies down, use that space to think more objectively about what’s happening.

Chances are, there’s a pattern to the things that trigger your emotions. Using the last example, you may notice that your pattern is to react with anger anytime someone questions your intestinal fortitude. Tap into that self-love and take a look at your patterns. Approach yourself with curiosity. Leave judgment behind. Ask yourself what is at the root of your emotional reaction? What do you want that you can’t have? What do you crave that is out of your reach?

Your father didn’t treat you with love when you cried. Wouldn’t it be nice to have had a hug instead of a rebuke? Sometimes what we want is what was lost in childhood. Sometimes we want love from another. Sometimes we want an apology. A new life. A new past. A new parent or spouse or body or home.

The tension between our reality and what we crave is the root of much of our reactionary tendencies. It’s time to let go. And that’s what we’ll talk about next.

You have to let go.

You don’t have to live in sadness, anger, frustration, emptiness, or despair. But to free yourself from these things, you have to do the hard work of letting go.

So what are you hanging onto that needs to be released? The answer to this goes back to that tension we described in the previous section. The difference between what you have and what you want is where you’re living. That space of wanting what you can’t have is dragging you down.

You can’t have a do-over for a bad decision you made. You can’t have a father who didn’t walk out on you. You can’t have the marriage you wanted that ended up failing. You can’t have . . . well, you can fill in the blank here.

But you want it. And that’s the issue. Whatever it is you want that you can’t have, that’s what you have to let go of. And this letting go is what moves you out of reaction and into peace.

To be clear, this isn’t the same as bottling up your emotions. It’s not about forbidding yourself to feel something. It’s about recognizing what’s causing that feeling, taking a breath, and genuinely letting it go because you want better for yourself.

When you’re able to achieve this practice, you’ll not only experience inner peace, you’ll also experience stronger relationships.

But what about being true to yourself? Some people are afraid that seeking growth means being a fake or artificial version of yourself. Let’s talk about the difference between your reactionary self and your intentional self in the next section.

This is the real you.

Your first impulse or emotion doesn’t define who you are. It’s a part of you, but it isn’t the whole you.

Humans have the unique ability to consciously choose their paths rather than being solely guided by survival instinct. Your preprogrammed emotional responses are rooted in survival. But now that you’re no longer a child, you’re beyond survival. You get to choose the life you want and actively work toward that life.

Let’s go back to that moment with your coworker who told you to quit whining. You yelled at them. They walked off in a huff; you went to your office. Now what do you do? First of all, you recognize that they aren’t the cause of your reaction. You don’t blame yourself, but you do take responsibility. You pause, breathe, and think about why you reacted that way. When you remember how you felt as a child being denied compassion, maybe you let yourself shed a tear.

Once you’ve calmed down and come to grips with your reaction, you go to your coworker, apologize unconditionally, and declare your intention to behave better in the future. But there’s more. Because now you get to go home to your own child. He’s sitting at the dinner table being told he can’t have dessert until he finishes his veggies. And he’s crying.

Watching him cry brings up a strong feeling of anger, but now you know where that anger is coming from. You calm down, maybe take a breather in another room, then you come back and give your kid the hug you wish you’d gotten.

Your true self is the person you’re choosing to be. Transformation is in your nature as a human, but it only happens by choice and work. We’ve created a world for ourselves that is constantly changing because we are constantly changing. Transformation is adaptive and necessary.

As you grow, you may find yourself letting go of old ideas or goals. You may even shed old identities. These are simply side effects of clarifying who you really are through the process of freeing yourself from the past and moving intentionally through the present.

Strive for progress.

Growth and maturity aren’t about achieving perfection. Your goal is progress. You’ll experience benefits from progress, and these benefits will, in turn, motivate you to continue your journey of growth.

So it’s important that you look for signs that you’re doing things right. Here are seven signs you can look out for.

One: you’re no longer reacting immediately to things that have commonly triggered you because you’re able to pause and give yourself space to reflect.

Two: You’re looking at others through a lens of compassion. As you offer yourself love and forgiveness, you recognize the work that others are doing and can give them the same love.

Three: You don’t feel the need to avoid uncomfortable feelings. Instead of numbing the pain or running from it, you’re able to ride the waves of your emotions while staying the course of your goals.

Four: you’re able to make choices that benefit your long-term goals rather than acting on what feels good in the moment.

Five: you draw clear boundaries, keeping yourself safe and confidently saying no when you need to.

Six: you’re able to disagree with others constructively, turning it into a learning experience or conversation rather than a fight or argument.

Seven: you can now hear the voice of your own intuition and you find that it’s guiding you in a positive direction.

If you notice these things happening, you’re seeing progress. Now, there’s no magic formula for achieving these things. You can take up any practice you want, whether that’s meditation, yoga, walking in the woods, or whatever makes sense to you. Be with yourself for a little while each day, seek understanding, and help yourself grow.

Love your partner second.

You can only love another person to the depth that you love yourself. That’s why personal healing is the single best thing you can do to improve your relationships.

If you’re in an intimate relationship, partnership, or marriage, it’ll help to share your intentions to pursue personal growth with your loved one. Since everyone knows that communication is the bedrock of a healthy relationship, it’ll help to establish communication guidelines with your partner.

The most important thing for you to agree on is the difference between attachment and connection. Attachment is selfish. It’s about wanting your partner to do or be what you want for your own comfort. Connection is about working together in love and support.

To be supportive of each other, you need to understand that no one can make you happy. Expecting your partner to be the source of your happiness will doom your relationship to extreme stress and likely failure.

Your partner can’t fix your emotional problems and you can’t fix theirs. Support means offering comfort, a listening ear, or simply space during hard times. Support also means both of you are behaving this way. One-sided relationships aren’t healthy for either party.

Support is voluntary. If either of you is placing expectations on the other, or if you feel the other owes their time and energy to your support, then you have a problem. Mutual love and respect rooted in emotional maturity in both parties is the only way for a relationship to truly thrive.

This is what healing looks like.

So how do you know whether your efforts at growth and healing are working?

Measuring growth is challenging. You can easily get caught up in the moments. This one was good, so I must be doing well. This one was bad, so I must be doing badly.

Your best bet is to stay in the present, continue your work, and greet moments of successful progress with joy. If you need to measure your success, take a big-picture look comparing yourself now to who you were when you first started.

Progress is slow and you’ll continue to encounter challenges. Sometimes it’ll be the same challenge and you’ll wonder why you’re still fighting the same battle.

Other times, progress will feel dramatic. You may even experience a fear of losing your old self.

Either way, simply ride the waves of those feelings. Then, in your calmer moments, remind yourself of your intentions and goals for yourself.

As you grow, there’ll be effects whether you see them or not. You’ll experience clarity and the ability to perceive things from different perspectives. You’ll be able to solve problems creatively and compassionately.

Speaking of compassion, as growth leads to humility and humility leads to compassion, the people around you will experience positive effects from being near you. Whether that’s loved ones at home or not-so-loved ones at work, the power of your healing will touch lives.

And you aren’t the only person making these improvements. Self-healing is being sought on a worldwide scale. As we each strive to grow into better versions of ourselves, we’re elevating humanity and paving the way for a better future.

We’re all finding ourselves on a shared path, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Summary

A healed world starts with a healed self. As we collectively move into the future, it’s important to reflect on our individual roles in this great big story of humanity. Most people would agree that we want to live in a world of love and kindness. Achieving the kind of compassionate systems and societies we need to advance our species starts with each of us doing the work to become compassionate human beings. And that compassion starts with how we treat ourselves. In short, loving yourself is the first step in healing yourself, your relationships, and the world.

About the author

yung pueblo is the pen name of the writer Diego Perez and means “young people.” The name is meant to convey that humanity is entering an era of remarkable growth and healing, when many will expand their self-awareness and release old burdens. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Genres

Motivation, Inspiration, Mindfulness, Happiness, Religion, Spirituality, Self Help, Poetry, Psychology, Mental Health, Philosophy, Personal Development, Autobiography, Memoir, Alternative Medicine, Meditation, Personal Transformation, New Age Meditation

Table of Contents

Introduction My Story 1
1 Self-Love 13
2 Healing 31
3 Letting Go 58
4 Finding Your Practice 91
5 Human Habit versus Human Nature 101
6 Emotional Maturity 120
7 Relationships 144
8 Challenges during Healing 183
9 Internal Changes Ripple Outward 207
10 Harmonizing the World 226
11 A New Era 253
Acknowledgments 271

“During the years when I had abandoned myself, my mind felt undeniably heavy. I knew I needed to find a clear way to help me feel lighter.”

Review

Lighter is a book that offers a radical and compassionate plan for turning inward and lifting the heaviness that prevents us from healing ourselves and the world. The author, Diego Perez, also known as yung pueblo, is a popular writer and speaker who shares his insights on self-healing, meditation, and social change. He draws from his own personal experience of overcoming drug addiction, anxiety, and depression, as well as his studies of Buddhism, psychology, and sociology.

The book is divided into three parts: Letting Go, Connecting, and Expanding. In each part, Perez shares his wisdom and guidance on how to heal our minds, hearts, and souls, and how to create a more peaceful and harmonious world. He covers topics such as self-compassion, emotional maturity, letting go of the past, trusting our intuition, finding our purpose, and cultivating joy. He also provides practical exercises and meditations to help us apply his teachings to our daily lives.

The book is written in a simple and poetic style, with short sentences and paragraphs that convey profound messages. Perez uses metaphors, analogies, and stories to illustrate his points and to inspire the reader. He also quotes from various sources, such as spiritual teachers, philosophers, poets, and scientists, to support his arguments and to show the universality of his message.

Lighter is a book that will appeal to anyone who is looking for a way to heal themselves and the world. It is a book that offers hope, inspiration, and empowerment to those who are struggling with their mental and emotional health, or who are facing challenges and difficulties in their lives. It is also a book that challenges us to look within ourselves and to question our beliefs, habits, and patterns that keep us stuck and unhappy.

The book is not a quick fix or a magic solution, but rather a guide and a companion for a lifelong journey of self-discovery and transformation. It is a book that requires us to be honest, courageous, and committed to doing the inner work of healing. It is also a book that invites us to be compassionate, curious, and open-minded to learning from others and from life itself.

The book is not a dogmatic or preachy book, but rather a humble and respectful book that acknowledges the diversity and complexity of human experiences and perspectives. It is a book that does not claim to have all the answers, but rather a book that encourages us to find our own answers and to trust our own wisdom. It is also a book that does not judge or criticize anyone, but rather a book that celebrates and honors the beauty and potential of every human being.

Lighter is a book that will make you feel lighter, happier, and more connected to yourself and the world. It is a book that will inspire you to live with more awareness, intention, and compassion. It is a book that will help you to let go of the past, connect with the present, and expand the future.

Nina Norman is a certified book reviewer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. She has reviewed hundreds of books for reputable magazines and websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Goodreads. Nina has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a PhD in literary criticism from Oxford University. She is also the author of several acclaimed books on literary theory and analysis, such as The Art of Reading and How to Write a Book Review. Nina lives in London, England with her husband and two children. You can contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Website | Twitter | Facebook

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