Be Yourself #2

#2 

Avoid fixating on the past and not letting yourself grow.

One of the most unhealthy approaches to being oneself is to make a decision that who you are is defined by a moment or period of time, after which you spend the rest of your life trying to still be that person from the past rather than someone who is still you but grows with the passing of each season and decade. Allow yourself this space to grow, to improve, to become wiser. And allow yourself to forgive past errors and past behaviors you're not so proud of. Work on accepting mistakes and choices you've made; they're done and in the past. You had your reasons for them and the decision made sense at the time, so instead of harnessing yourself to past mistakes, allow yourself to learn their lessons and continue to grow.


Look for people around you who proudly proclaim they are no different than they were the day they turned 16 or 26 or 36, or whatever. Do these people seem flexible,easygoing, happy people? Often they are not because they are so busy insisting that nothing has changed for them ever, that they're incapable of taking on new ideas, learning from others, or growing. They might believe adamantly that they are "being themselves" but in reality they are often enslaved by the past and a particular image of themselves that they would have done better to have released long ago. Growth into every new age and stage of our lives is an essential part of being true to ourselves and to being emotionally healthy and whole.

Oh, this one is good. Who are we NOW. Now is really all we can do anything about so let's focus on that. It is said that people always make the best decision for themselves at the time it happens with the information they have. What we have done in the past is.... well, in the past and can't be re-done.

What we do have is now. What we do have is the ability to have the awareness to use the past to make better decisions, not to focus on our past faults or actions or even to lift ourselves up on the pedestal. Even our greatest moments or Glory days are in the past. We are not those either.

By being open to new possibilities of what we can become, learn, love and do we free ourselves of images we might have of who we think we are. 

Let Go.

       

          Grow.

   

                  Cultivate.


What ripens in any moment are seeds sown in the past. In this moment, choose consciously to sow seeds for happiness and health. Breathe your awareness into this moment.