by David Pavek

If you are honest with yourself, you’ll want to take a close view of your past. Your perspective and clarity of the past will be enhanced with honesty.  The truth of who did what to whom, when, and for what reason remains elusive.  With honesty, your vision of the past improves.  With this clarity, you’ll make accurate conclusions about what and why things happened, sometimes you’ll surprise yourself by taking responsibility when needed.

Remarkably, as you truly see the truth of the past, blame and finger pointing become irrelevant, and are replaced with calm resolution to use the lessons of the past for a better tomorrow.  Honesty and truth do in fact “set you free,” and send you on your way to becoming centered and balanced in your life.

Therefore, you can consider centering as the action of improving your vision – of your past, your future, and ultimately yourself.

• Start by being reflective; in turn it will become a way of life.
• Be absolutely honest with yourself.
• Try to forgive.
• Avoid being judgmental.
• Commit to the importance of love.
• Avoid having the past manage you with hatred, fear, shame, or hopelessness.
• Recall and discern events looking to find the truth, which may be inconvenient.
• Seek clarity about your past choices.
• Look at your actions from your past.
• Take personal responsibility for your choices which were wrong.
• Forgive yourself.

Maybe you have tried to manage your past.  You may have been on such a quest for some time. However, when it comes to memories, you may believe that you are not capable of coming to terms with your past.  Remember that we all have made bad choices in the past.  We all have the baggage which comes with living.  Sometimes the consequences of life are overwhelming to the point that we cannot overcome the pain and discomfort.

You can’t change the past; we all know that.  But you can decide how to use your past.  It’s time to stop running from yourself.  Until you take the time to reflect and manage your past, you’ll never be free from the pain and discomfort.  You’ll also understand you can’t plan for the future if you are a slave to your past.  Does this sound familiar to you in your life?