Everyone has a past. It's inevitable and it is what shapes us into the people we are today. Although it does not have to define who we are. Everyone goes through hard times now and again and "what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger." I disagree. What doesn't kill us can make us weaker. Holding on to our past and letting it affect our future can tear a person up; keep them from living. Yes what's done is done, but it doesn't have to impact your everyday life. Only if you let it will your past have a hold of you. People go through shitty things, shit happens, and usually people don't deserve it. It's a way of life, it sucks, but it happens. Some people take the approach of "If God brought you to it, He can bring you through it." For some people this mindset works, for others not so much. It is amazing how people, myself included, let actions of others in the past effect how we view people in our present. We judge before ever really giving anyone a fair chance, especially if we've been done wrong. It is easy to assimilate certain actions and words into schemas where we cannot trust, associate, believe, or like others because someone before them has messed it up. Past actions and events change how you view everyday situations, it shapes how you interpret and react. Everyone is different. Everyone has a different story, no one will ever be able to feel the same way you do about something. No one will ever be able to completely understand where you are coming from, how it made you feel, so on and so forth. My friend Garrett and I were talking a couple summers back and although I don't remember word for word what he said I remember the point he was trying to make. You can never weigh your problems with those of someone else, they will not be the same and what may be hard for you could be easy for them and vise versa.
Everyone has a past. You live and you learn and this is what I've learned. You can accept what has happened to you and learn from it or you can live with it and let it affect the person you are. You cannot hold on to the past and expect to move forward in the future. As much as you want to forget what has happened to you and what has taken place, you can't. It has left its mark and helped shape you into the person you have become whether you like it or not. You decide whether it will leave a negative impact or a positive one. I'm not good with words and not sure how to put this so you can understand what I am getting at but this is what I've been contemplating for some time now:
Maybe it's not about leaving your baggage and forgetting your past but learning how to carry it with you gracefully.
If anything, I hope that is what you get out of this. We can't stop what has already taken place but we can learn from it and keep moving forward. Don't let the past keep you from living in the present because then, well, you will never truly live.
