I found that remembering and then writing about my past, particularly the parts that were grim or embarrassing or sometimes even shameful; released me from their hold.\u00a0 We cannot be held hostage by any thing or any one without our consent.\u00a0 That\u2019s not an easy idea to believe when first introduced to it.\u00a0 I had never ever thought of \u201chostage\u201d in those terms.\u00a0 But I was a hostage for sure.\u00a0 I lived in the shame of my past for many years.\u00a0 And telling all of it, every last part of it to any one any where seemed fool-hardy.\u00a0 Just the opposite is true, in fact.\u00a0 And only when you give the exercise a try will you believe it for yourself.<\/p>\n
I really can\u2019t encourage you enough about making a commitment to undertaking this worthy tribute to yourself.\u00a0 You deserve to celebrate all of who you were, and are now.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u00a0 believe we can see where we need to go next without a command of our past.\u00a0 We need not dwell on the troubling parts but recognize that they did play a part, a very important part, in getting us to this point.\u00a0 I am constantly reminded, and then reminding others too, that not a single part of the past can or should be denied.\u00a0 Each thread of it has contributed to the beautifully colored tapestry that is our life today.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m reminded of the book by spiritual intuitive Carolyn Myss: Sacred Contracts<\/em><\/strong>, in which she posits that all of our experiences here on this earthy plain have been selected by us in concert with those souls who will be a \u201cpart of the dance\u201d<\/em> when we meet here.\u00a0 Of course, we promptly forget the contract once it has been made, she says.<\/p>\n When I first read her words, and even when I heard her speak, I was more than a bit doubtful that what \u201cshe preached\u201d could be true.\u00a0 Since that time I have decided that true or not (we\u2019ll never know for sure until we get to the other side any way<\/em>), it offers me some comfort, particularly when I consider some of the more troubling experiences I did have.\u00a0 If they were meant for my growth and ultimate forgiveness of self and others, as she posited, and for the growth of my \u201cdance partner\u201d too, it seemed okay.\u00a0 Reasonable, in fact.\u00a0 I relaxed with the information and my life moved forward in a far more peaceful manner.<\/p>\n I would not have come to terms with much of my past had I not spent so much time over the years of my recovery seeking to accept it, to know God more intimately in the process, and to then willingly share it with others in order to be of service to them.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we do, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 We live our lives and then share them in order to help some one else live theirs.\u00a0 Passing it on.\u00a0 Paying it forward, as they say.\u00a0 And the human community is all the better for it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I found that remembering and then writing about my past, particularly the parts that were grim or embarrassing or sometimes even shameful; released me from their hold.\u00a0 We cannot be held hostage by any thing or any one without our consent.\u00a0 That\u2019s not an easy idea to believe when first introduced to it.\u00a0 I had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself"],"yoast_head":"\n