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Don’t Let Past Affect Present

Yesterday I found this quote, and it invigorated me.

Don’t let your past affect your present; let it motivate your future.

Unknown

If you know who said this, please let me know.

A New Blog

One of my goals this year is to start a blog about the topics in this post and more.

I can see the new site as clear as day. I need to accept that everything has to start somewhere. The most important thing is to get started, not to be perfect.

If you enjoy posts like this, please know I hope to create more on the new site.

If you don’t enjoy posts like this, I hear you and am working on separating the content.

The Dark Night of the Soul

The last few years have been quite interesting. Not to say that life isn’t always enjoyable. For me, life seems to cycle between ups and downs. I suspect I’m not the only one.

Upon entering my fifth decade, I’ve begun to put the pieces of my life together.

I endured the Dark Night of the Soul last year. I look at life differently now. To put it more in context, I no longer question how I look at life.

I believe nature is the most beautiful and inspirational thing I will ever see. I believe in kindness toward each other. I believe in people’s actions, not their words.

I look forward to sharing more in the new blog.

Spiritual Enlightenment | Being Present

I’ve been learning about spiritual enlightenment and spirituality. Taking that first step wasn’t easy, but I’m glad to be learning the concept.

My first book about spiritual enlightenment was The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

When you’re present, you don’t react reflexively to most situations. You are in the moment with no assumptions or expectations.

You don’t think about the past or the future unless there is a reason. You deliberately distract yourself when you catch yourself ruminating, a favorite hobby of mine. If you can’t stop ruminating, you show forgiveness toward yourself, not anger.

When you are present, you watch your thoughts like clouds in the sky. Just because there’s a cloud in the sky doesn’t mean it will rain or snow. It just means there’s a cloud in the sky.

Don't let your past affect your present; let it motivate your future.

Radical Acceptance

My current read is Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach. It’s brought me to the edge of tears several times. I can only read 5 to 10 pages at a time, and then I must put the book down to absorb the concepts.

I’m learning that acceptance doesn’t come from others. Acceptance comes from within. Once we accept who we are, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says. We don’t need the approval of others to feel complete.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing.

Comments

4 responses to “Don’t Let Past Affect Present”

  1. Hannah L Geiger Avatar
    Hannah L Geiger

    Those trees are beautifully pruned.

    1. John Holden Avatar

      Mother Nature at her finest!

  2. Kathleen (Kay) Kundert Avatar
    Kathleen (Kay) Kundert

    I have read and reread the above post and found so much meaning in it. I have also been through a year of great strife and still have nightmares about it, but once I can get outside this spring, or it almost looks like summer, I know things will brighten up again. This Blog came at the right time in my life. Thank you for your deep insight. As far as that quote goes, you have to go back to Isaiah 43:18-19 in the bible, and then from there people have put it in their own words. There is a lot of good stuff in the bible.
    I definitely will keep reading you Blog!

    1. John Holden Avatar

      Wow, Kay! The Bible is the answer to where that quote originated!

      Winters can be difficult for me with little sunlight and cold temperatures. It has been a VERY mild winter here, so I’m not doing too bad right now.

      Thanks for reading the blog and commenting!