Yesterday is gone, but it would be a major mistake to assume that it is, or should be, forgotten.
Our past holds all sorts of truths and revelations and lessons that sometimes we overlook in the moment, and only can truly grasp them when we look at these things from a distance.
We also must always remember that looking into our past is never for the purpose of assigning guilt or blame or shame; it is never meant for camping out amidst our mistakes and regrets and losing sight of our present or future.
A healthy look at the past starts with one thing: honesty. So often, when we begin to look at the past, we become defensive. We try to justify our actions to ourselves or to whomever we feel like we need to convince.
We have to stop making excuses and assigning blame and we need to embrace the phrase that I repeat so often to myself: I am responsible. Our past can create healthy, powerful, insightful building blocks for our future, if we choose to look back with honesty.
- Exercise:
Think about a time in your past when you felt defensive.
What were you trying to justify in that situation?
Write down an honest account of what happened and then decide what you can learn from it.
Integral Development Forum 