Do NOT judge me by my past...I don't live there anymore :)

Borrowed from a Friend, but DEFINITELY can relate:

There are a lot of things in my life that put my head into a tailspin. Wondering if there was something I was supposed to learn from it or if it really had too much significance. They always say hindsight is 20/20. That perfect clarity of “I should have done this or if I would have done that.”

This also leads me to ponder how much power I should give to something that may or may not have happened had I done something differently. These are the things that plague my mind today. One such instance that seems to have a stranglehold on my life still and for some reason is holding on with a tenacity that it puts everything that should take precedence into a holding pattern.

Yes I have a past. Everyone has one. That pesky little thing that likes to say, “Hey! Guess what I am still here!” 

I hear a lot of stuff that should make sense but absolutely does not. No matter how much I try to wrap my head around it, it still stymies me. So now I will take a different approach to finding the answer to clarity.

My past is just that! MY PAST!!! Meaning it is not my present, it is not my future, it does not necessarily define WHO I AM. Yes it has helped shape me from the lessons I took away from it. What defines me is my heart and my brain who at times do not always see eye to eye. What defines me is that I can look that adversity in the eye and take another step forward to my future! So this is what I have to say to that PAST! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO HINDER MY ACTIONS OF THE PRESENT! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DICTATE MY FUTURE! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO ALTER MY PATH! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE FOCUS AWAY FROM WHAT MATTERS TO ME! AT ONE TIME YOU HAD THAT POWER BUT THAT IS NO LONGER! 

It is a new day, and yesterday is no longer. Tomorrow is still to come and as my dear departed Momma used to tell me “This too shall pass..” It is now time for me to shake off the shackles and don a new attitude of perseverance and a tenacity of my own. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BREAK ME!