Have faith in what will happen. It just popped into my head and I started thinking about various events in my life. When I reflect back on where I have been and where I am now, there are so many things I never expected or never anticipated. Writing that sounds ridiculous to me on some level. There are so many unexpected things that happen in life. It is necessary trust in the idea that there is a reason behind everything that happens and the timing of things will be what it needs to be. Maybe some people ponder this often but I tend to reflect when something reminds me to do so. How did you get here? What decisions did I make or did I not make? How have I changed? What has changed me or what has been the impetus to change? Here is what was happening 1 year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago. The things in the present that were never on my radar in prior years are most interesting to me. 10 years ago I never would have imagined I would be working where I am today.5 years ago I would not have believed I would still be working where I am. It is interesting to reflect on the people who were in my life and those who have drifted in a different direction and the new people I have met along the way.
There is a saying I have read that I will misquote and it goes something like, “Do not think about the past because you do not live there.” I tend to look at the past as the way to learn how to avoid repeating those things you prefer to never again repeat. You can say you will never do something again but I believe until you determine why you did something or examine what was happening in your life at a specific time, you may repeat things. You have to look at the matter, understand why it happened, what role you played and what you can do differently next time. I have a friend who says he nevers likes to think about the past. He does not like to think about mistakes he has made or “stupid” things he has done. Avoidance only leads to more of the same. Facing yourself and taking accountability for things that have happened can be difficult and uncomfortable. I tend to think once you take a hard look at something and you learn something valuable. I think avoiding the past is like being chased. I think of a cartoon character running with zombie skeletons in fast pursuit. Once you stop and turn around and address each skeleton by name and find out why you are being chased, the skeletons vanish. We learn lessons from past actions by virtue of facing things and setting them free. If we choose to face a lesson or take a lesson to heart, it can only be a helpful lead-in to change. The past does not define us. It can help us figure out who we want to be moving forward. We make mistakes, we make less than ideal decisions, we do weird things, hang out with various people and it all happens for a reason. I guess sometimes you have to visit the past and then move on versus living in the past and dwelling or letting the past continuously tap you on the shoulder. It is like going on a weekend trip. You visit, you look around, you experience things and then you go back to your reality.
Learning is an ongoing experience, we never stop learning whether we like or not regardless of age. Well, perhaps on some level learning is choice or admitting there is something to learn is a process. I was talking to a friend recently about a specific situation and I said I had nothing to learn from it. The next day I was driving to work and realized there was something big I had been ignoring – kind of like an elephant in the room. When you least expect it things can reveal themselves and teach you something new. I would guess in a year or 5 years I will look back again and be amazed about what has changed in my life. I tend to think things change in our life if we pay attention to signs and messages that lead to the lessons. Some lessons are harder than others and some result in really positive things.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
