Today's
Meditation:
I've known plenty of people who are prisoners of their
pasts. Some of them are still agonizing over a
mistake that they made or some hurt that someone else did
them. Others are in the "glory days" mode,
thinking of some time in the past that was the "best
time of their lives," and that's pretty much all they
ever talk about. Others live in regret of an
opportunity not taken, or one taken-- taking that job that
they're still "stuck" in, when they should have
bought a one-way ticket to Europe or South America or
Asia.
But our past doesn't imprison us-- it simply can't.
It has no control over us at all, and no ability to
control us. Rather, we keep ourselves stuck in the
past with our own minds-- we choose to think of our glory
days instead of the people who are in our lives now; we
choose to agonize over a mistake from ten or twenty years
ago rather than appreciate the opportunities that are ours
today; we choose to wish we were still with that one love
we had rather than keeping an eye out for someone who will
be even better.
Our past can be more than just a prison-- it can be a storm
that blows out the light of our inspiration and
passion. The world is full of wonders every single
day that we're alive, but they're only going to benefit us
if we're able to recognize them and take advantage of
them. If we're pining after something in our past,
though, we're going to be blind to all that is in our
lives today, and that's quite a shame.
Let's leave the past in the past, where it belongs, and
stop digging it up so that it can ruin today. Let's focus on the
present moment and the future, and give ourselves a chance
to live happy, full, and complete lives. The past
can give us nothing-- only today can contribute to our
well-being and happiness.
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