My past keeps on changing

Many of the villains of my childhood have become victims in my mind, barely given a chance of acting any way but the way they did.

I can see the fear in their eyes as they seek to produce a temporary terror in me that they have never known anything but.

That doesn’t mean this wisdom would have caused me to turn the other cheek but it does mean, to me at least that they were attacking my joy not my inadequacy and that changes who I am today.

Don’t get me wrong, there are other villains of my past who’s actions I put down to a desire to destroy but I’m now open at least intellectually to that perception changing.

I see the disadvantages and pains of my youth as the advantages of my present. In fact I see no way of my being able to be who I am now without them.

I see now what I knew then as my survival mechanisms, as my unique and unmatchable skills.

Unmatchable because I have practised them relentlessly since I was able to walk - that’s two or three skills practised 24/7 for 41 years making me unique.

That’s what I’m world class at. You probably have your own magic if you can recognise, realise and capitalise by operating from them more consistently.

I don’t dwell in the past or live in the past or even talk about the past that often but I have learned that when I visit the past strategically the present gets better and my future becomes more beautiful.

I laugh more, I experience more peace, ailments improve, sleep improves, I physically change shape, I become more consistent in my commitments, I become a better parent.

I’ve learned that who we are today is a product of the associations we have with our environment and each tiny part of our environment is rich in associations from the past.

Those associations when explored can often change to something more skilful. Something that changes how you feel right now. The world contains a little more possibility, a little more joy and a little less uncertainty and inadequacy.

Your self image determines how you act today and it is formed by how you interpret the past.

How you approach others is determined by self image AND your image of others and that is determined by your interpretation of the past.

Your habits today were created by your attempts to survive and thrive in the past repeating today. But what if you realised that they didn’t support your survival at all?

They might just drop away. I’ve seen this happen in myself and many, many of my clients.

What you believe is possible in the future is determined by how you see the past.

They say you can’t change the past and of course that’s true but reflecting and changing your interpretation of it can shift your entire life today.

What do you think?

Is the past just the past for you or have you re-imagined it and changed the present as a result?

Would you spend a day re-imagining the past if you know it would transform the present and the future?