Kiss the past goodbye
Bringing closure to less favorable times in our lives is difficult, but, sometimes you simply have to make a decision to kiss the past good bye. Look the past in it eyes, embrace it and then plant a fat juicy kiss on it, thanking it for how it is has helped to shape you into the person you are today, a person more prepared and equipped for the future as a result of all of your collective moments, both the good and the really bad times alike.
There are events in all of our lives that we wish we could relive differently. Whereas that is not possible, we do have power over the value we assign to those experiences. There are times when we need to move on and bring closure to the past for our own sake. Yet, it’s often the one thing we choose not to do. For whatever sadistic reasoning, we cling to memories and events that highlight moments that we fully know did not serve us well: Bad decisions that we made and paths taken that we are sure veered us off course. Clinging to these memories is keeping us locked in the land of should of, could of and would have; a place full of regrets.
This leaves us unable to view our past for what it is – a combination of historical events that served to shape us, prepare us and have us ready to live and embrace new opportunities as wiser people. I truly believe it is about proper PERSPECTIVE. We have the POWER to assign a value to our past. We can create an epitaph that properly memorializes our experiences and empowers us to live our life going forward with conviction and PURPOSE.
As I began thinking through ways to best embrace my own past and prepare to kiss it good-bye, I came across an article by Martha Beck on regret proofing your life. Here is an excerpt from that article:
“Let’s start by changing the past. If you think that can’t be done, think again. Literally. The past doesn’t exist except as a memory, a mental story, and though past events aren’t changeable, your stories about them are. You can act now to transform the way you tell the story of your past, ultimately making it a stalwart protector of your future.” For the full story click here.
So today, I challenge you to create a 140 character epitaph (the size of a tweet) that honors the life you’ve lived up to this point and releases you to live the life you desire. Embrace your experiences for the knowledge they provided. Allow them to do what they are designed to do – work for your good. Once you have done that, if you are set up on Twitter, tweet it, send it out into the universe, serve notice that this is how you choose to tell your story. I also, invite you to post it on this site: Tell the world, broadcast this is who I am and this is how I view my past.
My epitaph concerning my past reads:
I’ve lived. I’ve done things some only imagine. Made mistakes. I own my experiences. I’m a better person as a result of them. Now, I press towards my POTENTIAL with joy.
Once you have written and shared you epitaph, kiss the past good-bye and press towards your highest POTENTIAL and the divine PLAN for your life. Your best life is waiting for you to live it. Pucker up!