Choose Your Past

April 20, 2009 by Mary Wynne-Wynter 

picture-16
Social media is re-connecting people who’ve been out of touch for ages. As we tell out our “stories” to long-lost friends, its easy to fall back into the point-of-view of a former self, who may be a lesser self.

You know it when it happens because you might feel a little low afterward and you don’t know why and you find yourself griping about the downside of social media.

I had this experience recently telling an old friend one of my family stories, adding a touch of cynicism and a drama flourish. It brought up some old resentments that drained my energy and blocked my creativity for the rest of the day.

But driving home that night I revisited my story as I looked up at the full moon over Boston. Instead of resentment, I felt love, empathy and gratitude about the same memory and toward the same family members in my story.

I realized it wasn’t just a change in perspective or a plot twist. It was a shift: a different memory, a different past, a different family member, a different me.

A greater self creates the past of a greater self. Why be anyone less?

Filed under: authenticity, presence, self-awareness, shift, trauma release
Tagged: ,
Comments: None