Has there ever been a person who doesn’t have something in their past that either happened to them or that they did, they wouldn’t wish to undo?

I could write a long list of reasons why we hold on to negative events from our past but bottom line, we are unintentionally limiting ourselves.

I’m talking about any type of harm that we’ve experienced or harm we’ve caused others (or ourselves). This can be anything from a comment to some type of abuse. This is what I’ve learned about these painful events of the past;

1. Moving beyond these events, letting go, feeling lighter begins with an acceptance of what happened. The truth is, whether we wish to accept it or not, it’s something that has already happened, and no matter how much we wish it hadn’t, it did. We can’t change that.
2. Many times it happened long ago. Now without realizing it, we unintentionally keep the pain of those events alive. We give them power, our personal energy, by reliving them or continuing to discuss them. We may still see ourselves as a victim and that disempowers us.
3.  Holding onto the memory of these events hurts us now. It may be true that someone hurt us, or we hurt someone in our past, but it isn’t happening now and so unintentionally, we are the ones now hurting ourselves.

4. Being gentle and caring with ourselves by living a life free of anger, hatred, resentment or unforgiveness is the best antidote. Those negative emotions are poisoning our built in loving spirit and holding us back from living a better life.

It is possible to let go of painful events that happened and to heal old wounds. We can begin by realizing we have them inside of us, and by having a desire to not give them power over us any longer. It doesn’t negate what happened, it just puts it in its proper place, the past.

If we had something big and it broke when we were 8, would we choose to hold onto it and move it around with us for the rest of our lives? No, probably not. Why not? Because it would be burdensome, not serve any purpose, or complicate our life. In other words, it makes OUR life harder not easier. You deserve love and kindness in your life, and carrying these painful feelings around is not a choice that produces good feelings or a better life.

Wouldn’t it feel much lighter and freeing to stop carrying the pain we experienced in the past around with us? You didn’t have a choice in the past but you do now…. What will it be, lightness and freedom, or to carry the pain of your past into your present and your future?

With love, Jackie
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