Releasing your past and embrassing your future

I promised myself to write when there were major changes in my life either physical or emotional.  Today I am going through a major emotional change.  I am learning to let go.  To make room in my life for good things by releasing something that no longer works or makes me happy.  This year is all about growth, about becoming the person I was born to be.

It is a year of growth and new beginnings.  I realized that I have entirely to much emotional attachment to a few material things in my life that although they no longer serve any purpose in my day to day existence they are preventing me from growing and changing because I am still existing in the past through their presence in my life.

I know that some emotional attachment is good, it binds us to the real world and reminds us why we struggle from day to day just to keep a roof over our head and clothes on our back.  But an unrealistic and unhealthy attachment to material possessions can also bind you to a world that no longer exist in your here and now.

Many times we get to attached to things that remind us of a simpler time or happier times with those we love. A favorite shirt or a pair of comfortable shoes.  Using that item to keep those memories alive in our hearts and minds. When it reality those memories would exist even if that material presence was gone.  We should embrace the people we love, not the things that keep those memories foremost in my minds.

As I sat a few days ago going through some old photos I relived those happy memories.  Regretting the loss of many of my photos when my hard drive crashed 2 years ago but also realizing that although those pictures are lost to me, I will always have those memories.  Nothing can take those away memory short of death or memory loss.

My dad always said the part about growing older he never fully understood until he began the process our bodies shut down slowly. First our eyesight isn't what it once was, then our hearing begins to slip and then our memories begin to fade.  He always felt the loss of memories was the greatest loss of all of his possessions. Perhaps that is why I journal so much. So no matter what I can read what I was facing and how I dealt with it.

So today I am facing a demon I have run from in the past in order to make room in my life for the things that will bring me joy and releasing those things that no longer do. Sometimes material things can become a weight around our neck weighing us down and preventing us from growing and changing.  Allowing those things to prevent our growth as people only serves as a disservice to ourselves and those we love. Change isn't easy but is a necessary evil for growth.

So embrace the pain that may come with change. Allow it flow through you and change you. Learn from it and move forward. Don't allow your heart to become so hardened that nothing bothers you or affects you.  But do not dwell in that dark place. Do not allow the pain to make you unfeeling to others or yourself.  What we cannot go around we must go through in order to evolve.

For many years my image of myself has been a phoenix.  From the ashes of its own destruction comes the new bird, ready for flight and ready to live another 1,000 years in glory.  It is often from the ashes of our current life we discover our own future and the path we are born to be upon.  Instead of dwelling in the failures of your life, you should look to the horizon and the better tomorrow just around the corner. 

So today my blog is about growth, changes in our lives that we must make in order to evolve into that phoenix.  Beautiful and renewed and ready to face whatever challenges that may come.  Instead of limiting ourselves to our past, we need to be prepared to do what must be done. To cut ties that bind and to ready our hearts and minds for the bliss that a life well lived promises us. 

Be good to yourself and do not make any changes until you are ready emotionally and mentally for.  Take your time and be patient with yourself but also do not limit your future by the presence of your past.  Learn from your past mistakes and hopefully become a more well rounded and loving person for the life lessons you have faced and survived.  What doesn't kill you will make  you stronger and wiser.

Until next time blog buddies, be safe, stay sane, and follow your bliss.

An interesting article about the phoenix and rising from the ashes of your current existance in order to follow a more harmonious existance. 

http://aflourishinglife.com/2011/01/coping-with-challenging-life-circumstances/