decide

Letting Go of the Past

As we walk along the path of life, steadfast in courage, strong in will, each and every mile we travel takes us further away from the pain of our past. But make no mistake. To get past the mountain of adversity, you must climb it—one foot in front of the other, and if necessary, one day before the next.

Yet every moment we linger, looking back in sorrow for what might have been or what could have been, is one more precious moment lost to the darkness. For just as time marches ever forward, so too must we live our lives—heart, mind, and soul—focused always on the future, on that glorious destination awaiting us all, if we do not falter and we do not fail. And by glorious I speak not of world-conquering generals, Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, or preening rockstars basking in an illusory light of fame. Rather, I speak of the glory of the everyday man or woman, the commoners who, coming to the end of their journey, are able to die well, because they have lived well.

And though your eyes be ever on the destination, do not blind yourself to this day’s journey. Because it is our journey after all, which makes the destination so sweet. Each and every day of our journey, if we but open our eyes, we shall find a lesson. A lesson to treasure and to hold deep within our hearts, to help us along the way.

Some of these lessons may be pleasant. But more often than not, the best ones will be painful. Do not turn away. Know that with the pain will come sorrow. Touch it, feel it, embrace it if you must. But above all, learn from it. Then move on, just as life moves on.

Letting Go of the Past - Spencer Lane Adams - learning to let go and move on to a brighter and better future.

And should a day come when you find yourself trapped in the pain, unable to learn the lessons that it’s trying to teach you, know this: That it is you and only you, who clings to it. Like an old friend you cannot bear to part with, you carry it upon your shoulders from one day to the next, weary and worn from the effort.

Leave it!

Lay it down!

Let go of it!

For if today you let go of the past—really let it go—then tomorrow you shall find that your pain is diminished. Then a week, or month, or year from now you will be that much further from it. But if and only if, you lay it down today.

And if you stay strong, if you persist and persevere, then one day you shall look back and thank God almighty for giving you the gift of your struggle. Because it is only when we struggle the most that we grow strongest. To our surprise, we shall find that in our weakness, we were made stronger. And in our foolishness, we were made wiser. For it is only when we ourselves have experienced weakness and foolishness—those all-too-human failings that we all partake of—that we are able to learn compassion and forgiveness for the weakness and foolishness in others.

For without forgiveness, there can be no love. And without love, there can be no forgiveness. Therefore, let the past be past, and remember this: It is love that endures. Even if man does not, our love endures. For though our lives are but a twinkling in the vastness of eternity, our love goes on forever.

 

Spencer Lane Adams

8/13/2018

Enough is Enough

Sit down, my son — please lend me your ear.
Lately, you’ve taken a wrong turn, I fear,
But I won’t criticize you or take you to task,
I only have one simple question to ask.

 

Have you had enough nightlife and glamour and thrills?
Have you had enough problems with paying your bills?
Have you had enough cocaine and whiskey and pills?
Have you had enough puking and headaches and chills?

 

Have you hurt enough loved ones — thrown away enough years?
Have you killed enough brain cells — or cried enough tears?
Have you had enough suffering or lost enough friends?
Have you felt enough pain now — is this where it ends?

Enough is Enough - Spencer Lane Adams Poem - From Father to Son - Giving up addiction.

Or would you like to keep smashing your head thru the wall?
Do you like it in prison — are you having a ball?
How ‘bout some cirrhosis, hepatitis, or AIDS?
A bloody old needle? Now, don’t be afraid!

 

Have you had enough black-outs and car wrecks and jail?
Have you had enough courtrooms and lawyers and bail?
I know what you’re thinking: “Dad, leave me alone!”
“I’m not a kid anymore — can’t you see that I’m grown?”

 

Well, forgive me, my son, if my love is too tough.
I just thought you should know that,
“Enough is enough!”

 

Spencer Lane Adams

05/29/2020

Decision Point

There comes a point in every person’s life where the road you’ve been traveling comes to an end.

 

Or maybe the road continues on, but you realize the time has come for you to take a different road. A higher, better road. Where a new and brighter destination awaits.

 

Deciding on what path to choose in life - overcoming problems, addictions, changing your life - decision point.

Perhaps the path you have chosen has taken you as far as possible, or even led you backwards.

 

Maybe you’ve fallen into a ditch and can’t for the life of you climb out. Moving forward has become impossible.

 

The good news my friend, is you are not stuck.

 

To find release, you need only listen to your inner self. It whispers to you in the wind and in dreams, telling you: The chains that bind you are as dust compared to the power of your spirit!

 

One decision, backed by will and intention, is all that is required. You need only decide, and it shall be done.

 

Do not think that there is more to it than this. For in thinking it is so, you will make it so, and thus defeat yourself.

 

Search not for secret formulas or magic spells. Do not put your faith in esoteric or “occult mysteries”, step methods, or pop psychology.
If the milk is sour, throw it away. If the meat is rancid, toss it out.

 

You wish to change? Then decide to change. That is all.

 

And if it should come to pass that months later, you still have not changed, search no further for an explanation than this: You simply never truly decided to change in the first place.

 

“Oh, but I did! I did!” you say. Yet a moment’s honest reflection is all that is necessary to see that your so-called “decision” was half hearted at best.

 

Understand this – if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice: a choice to remain trapped in bondage, a voluntary servitude, so to speak.

 

And there, you shall remain, until such a time that you actually do decide. And remember this – that each and every day you put off that decision, you choose to remain in that rut, you choose (by default) death over life, darkness over light, and evil over good.

 

Because that which robs you of your free will is death. That which drags your spirit downward is darkness. And that which strips you of your dignity is darkness. This then, is what you choose every day.

 

All this and more is yours, and shall remain yours forever, for want of a simple decision.