Looking Up to the Past
Picture courtesy of Picassa Web albums
Ever looked up into the sky at night and wondered why the stars twinkle? Some might say it is because they are constantly going bright and dim but that is not the reason for this phenomenon. The truth is, as we look up into the sky we are gazing into the past. The stars we see are several million light years (distance used to measure stars on a galactic scale with reference to the speed of light) from our planet earth. It therefore takes a long time before it's light reaches us on this planet. Hence some of the stars we see at night may in reality not even exist anymore, but it's light continues to shine for all to see. And it may take several decades or even centuries before it won't be seen again.
This phenomena of space can be taken as an analogy in our own lives. Everybody has a past with their own story to tell and our actions in the present is based on our past experiences. It is the lessons of our past that constantly guide us in our present decisions, which inevitably progress to shape out our future. So in actual fact we are all looking up to our past. Whether it is to not repeat our mistakes or to shape out a future that ultimately emulates the past success of someone. One thing is evident though, that for you to live peacefully in heart, mind and soul, you have to accept your past whether it's full of rights or wrongs, for your past will either make you or break you.
There is a common school of thought that you should forget your past mistakes and move on with your life. But as human beings, God gave us a brain where we can store memories. He didn't also give us a delete button to delete all the bad things that happen to us. He wants us to remember everything we go through. He also gave us the power of choice and reason to plan how to utilize and incorporate the lessons learnt from the past so that it can catapult you in fulfilling your life's purpose.
You're not meant to forget your past whether good or bad, happy or sad. Though it doesn't determine who you are, it helps to define who you are due to the decisions you make from them. Accept your past with all its lessons. Don't just accept the good and leave the bad but accept it all and know that God lets everything happen for a reason. Things may not seem like it presently but as the years roll by, you begin to thank God for all that you go through because it becomes evident that they all prepare you for the next stage of your life.
Life is a precious gift, though full of complexities and troubles they are what makes it worth living. For if we lived in constant bliss i'm certain as human as we are we would forget a God exists and thus would cease to depend on Him. This life is for but a moment, and to fully live it to the fullest you have to accept all the gifts it presents to you whether good or bad, and use it to move to the next stage.
Memories never die and our past lives through them as guides to aid us and not destroy us. Those that attempt to use the past negatively against you only do so because they can see how successful it's made you.
As you continue to write the pages of your life, look up to your past in order to see the next stone for you to step on to raise you to higher heights.
Picture courtesy of Picassa Web albums
