mindset

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

A State of Mind

Whenever we get offended by a character flaw in another person, it usually means we ourselves have a similar problem. And if we can so easily excuse ourselves, why not then excuse another?

Getting angry at humans for being human is akin to getting angry at a river for flowing downhill. It is in the nature of humans to have flaws.

Choosing your mindset - state of mind - making the choice to be happy.

To get upset or resent such things is a waste of precious time.

 

And we have so little of that already. Would a little character flaw in another person distress you so much if you had a terminal disease?

 

Whether you realize it or not, we’re all suffering from the terminal disease of life.

 

No matter how young or old we are, we are all already in the process of dying.

 

So why distress yourself over that which you cannot control or be held responsible for?

 

Remember always, if a person or thing is distressing you, it is not the person, it is not the thing, that is distressing you. Can a person climb inside your head and make you feel bad or upset?

 

Rather, it is your judgement about the person or thing that is distressing you.

 

And right this minute, if you so choose, you can decide that whoever or whatever is bothering you isn’t so bad after all.

 

My father used to yell at me to turn down my loud rock music. “You’re killing me with that horrible crap!” he would claim.

 

But if loud rock music really was “horrible crap”, no one would ever purchase the music, or go to rock concerts. It was my father’s judgement about the music that was distressing him.

 

Let us never stop reminding ourselves – it’s up to me in this very moment whether or not I am happy, sad, or disturbed.

 

What I choose to focus on, and how I judge it, determines my state of mind.