Forgetting What is Behind ...

I often start these verbal rants, after a long period of not writing, by confessing to my unknown readers that I've no idea where to begin because so much water has gone under the bridge. Today is as good a day as any other to write down my thoughts for I have many of them and who knows but that it can lead to a renaissance of blogging again.

Am fighting people constantly who cannot put my past behind them and move on. It has made me muse much on how difficult it is to simply put the past in it's historical context and get on with life. Why is it that people are so affected by our individual choices and driven to despair by the inability to leave ones personal baggage right where it belongs, i.e., in their capable hands.

For the instrusive I offer the following humble suggestions:

1. Mind your own business. Stay out of the affairs of others. You have too many issues of your own to burden you down with and so why add to the litany the frustration of sorting through someone else's problems. In the grand scheme of things ... what is it to you anyway? Move on. You'll be happier; they will be happier; and the world will breath a sigh of relief.

2. Show some humility. We love to point out the faults in others but are not so apt to turn the gaze on oursleves. Often pride and arrogance are at the root of our moral postulations about this or that. A healthy understanding of your own base nature will more than heal a judgmental attitude. Commit a few sins and you'll be less inclined to condem others for theirs. What was it that Jesus of Nazareth said? "The measure you give will be the measure you get."

3. Live in the present. Going back and changing the past is a Hollywood fabrication that doesn't really work in this life that we live in the here and now. If we choose to live in the past then we will never afford ourselves the freedom to be released from the bondage and burden of past failures. We often love to grovel about the past but does it really work for us? Does it make us more content? Does it give us clear direction for a bright future? Is there any hope in living in the past? Can we change the past? The answer to all these is a resounding no.

4. Make a change. Do something? Nike's marketing centers around the "Just do it" slogan and for this life, that's not too bad when considering making changes that will help you escape the tyranny of the past and embrace the joy of new beginnings. Stop complaining and DO something about your life. Stop blaming others and take personal responsibility for your choices. Make a change and don't procrastinate.

5. Journal. Create a blog of your own! Write down your thoughts in a notebook. Record your failures and what you learned from them. The process of hammering out words to express the errors and misjudgments, poor choices and plain old stupid decisions is a hard one. Why? Because we often like to paint ourselves in the best light. When you take pen to paper remind yourself that if you deceive yourself then you are of all men, or women, most miserable. You cannot escape from yourself so you may as well be honest with the one person you can't escape .... YOU.