Taking stock, measuring up.

Probably everyone reading this post has made a lot of mistakes over the years.  Life isn’t always pretty, at least mine wasn’t.  It’s not expected to be, in fact, but far too many of us never quit blaming ourselves for mistakes of the past.  For some of us every mistake became a tragedy of epic proportions, even when that wasn’t the case.  And most often it wasn’t the case. Many mistakes were simply pebbles on the learning curve of life.  Pebbles that might have tripped us, but certainly not big enough pebbles to throw our entire life into a shadow that haunts us into old age.

I know I let folks down in the past, my parents in particular.  And even though I made amends, both verbally and by changing my behavior quite dramatically, I still have moments of remorse for the embarrassment I caused them.  I think this is partly due to my age now.  As I have gotten older, I feel more deeply about what good people they were and know they didn’t deserve what I put them through.  Excusing it by saying I was simply having growing pains doesn’t seem to be enough most of the time.  And yet, to continue holding myself hostage, means I am missing out on opportunities that are presenting themselves to me every day, opportunities to make a difference in the here and now in the lives of those whom God is intentionally sending my way.

Whatever your age right now, it’s time to move on.  It’s time to say we have passed through many stages of life, some more successfully than others, but in each stage we met those individuals we were meant to meet.  We were introduced to the lessons we were meant to experience.  And anything we failed to learn will revisit us at another time.  Nothing goes unlearned! Nothing.

Perhaps we should begin here making a list of those things we know we have learned and need no reminders about.  Let me name a few so you can get the idea.

1. I have learned that fear wears many faces and one of them is anger.

2. I have learned that letting other people be in charge of their own journey through life is the only way to ensure my peace of mind.

3. I have learned that multi-tasking is a myth.  I can’t give my full attention to two places or people at the same time and each situation is deserving of my rapt, unyielding attention or it wouldn’t have presented itself to me.

4. I have learned that no experience was unimportant to my evolution.

5. I have learned that every expression made by anyone of us reflects a feeling of love or fear and the right response, regardless of what we encounter, is always a loving one.  Always.

6. I have learned that we are always in the right place at the right time.  Even when it seems this can’t possibly be true, it is.

7. I have learned that forgiveness is the only act that truly unifies us, and the acceptance that we are all one is the singular fact of this life we share with 7 billion other souls.

8. I have learned that a peaceful heart is the by-product of acting in a peaceful way.

9. I have learned that pausing before making any comment or taking any action is all the time God needs to get the right thought in my mind.

10. I have learned that accepting every encounter with any one, as Holy and part of my divine journey, keeps all chaos at bay.

11. I have learned that I don’t have to believe in God for God to believe in me.