Every day that I teach I have students whose lives have become a tangled mess. Most of them have pasts that they replay over and over in their minds......living in the now is a most difficult concept for them to grasp.
Last week, I had a student who told me several times, "I want what you have, teach me." Helping someone
find peace, when their lives are in such turmoil is hard. It is more than breath work, it is more than yoga,
more than a willingness to change a path.......it is also learning to let go of the past.
Holding on to what we know best, our past, it is what we do. We think that our past defines who we are, we think that our past cannot be released, we think that our past is our present and our future.
Yes, the past is a part of us......but it is not taking place now. The past has become a part of our memory bank, good or bad. If we cling to it, it will never let us go. I went to a class reunion several years ago.
I saw an old friend, a neighbor,who was also a classmate, a sports hero and one of the most popular boys in our class. We were talking, about our lives, what we were doing, the usual things you speak of at those functions......and then he made one of the saddest remarks I have ever heard. He told me that high school was the best time of his life. That statement broke my heart.......I am thinking, high school was only four years of your life, you are married, have children, a successful career.......and those four short years were the best you have had? Since then, I have met others who have felt that way about those four short years.
What a waste, how sad.
Living for today is the way to make peace in your life. We have all made choices in our lives that have brought us where we are today......we will all make choices that will take us on our path tomorrow. If we made
bad choices yesterday, then we have to make better choices today We learn from our choices, beating ourselves up over the bad ones, over the past.......doesn't make today or tomorrow any better.
A big step toward personal peace......letting go of the past.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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I don't know how you do it Jilda. All that brokenness would juts get me down and depress. So many unhappy people....
ReplyDeleteIt's like playing an old record with a bad scratch in it. The needle get hooked in the scratched groove and repeat itself over and over and over until you lift the needle up to get it past the scratch.
Life is a journey of learning. That's why we have the gift of forgiveness, to let go and the gift of memory to remember.
We learn better from our mistakes because they scratch deep in our psych. So much expectations left unmet.
You must have a special gift to do what you do each day.
Hugs,
JB
A har lesson but a must! I agree
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't explain how touched I am from reading your post. I have so many regrets....But, like you wrote my past is my past I need to let it go......but, for me it's the hardest thing for me to do. If you ask anyone that has known me for the past 13 years they will tell you I am the most saddest person you will meet. Thanks for sharing.....
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