Release the Regrets!

The concept of guilt has been rolling around in my head recently. It seems to me that too much of our brief human experience is spent on things like guilt and regret. I find this very sad and energy crushing. Lately I've been seeking to lighten my earthly load of material possessions, and maybe at the same time streamline my inner mental landscape. We have all struggled with negative feelings at times, but where does it get us?

Of course our past shapes each of us into the person we are today and affects the choices we make as we move forward. But should we dwell on the concept that we are inherently bad, or wrong or somehow always going to be full of fault? I don't think so. I think this concept of attaining a higher and happier state was in my mind before I began to connect with yoga, but through my practice I have come to realize that the present is so much more of a healthy place to be. The past is exactly that, what has already happened. We learn and grow and live out our present due to the actions and experiences of the past, but are we forever locked to that era? I don't think so. I think we must build the strength of spirit to rise above whatever haunts us.

How? That's hard. It's not necessarily going to be something your neighbor or friend (or foe) always encourages, but maybe that says more about them than it does about you. We must also try to release the power of others to determine our worth. Life feels shorter to me every day, not simply because I am getting a wee bit older, but maybe because I look around to my family and friends and see how fast the dear little children are growing. My own childhood is preserved happily in my mind and seems endless in a way, but now I realize more and more how fleeting the short, and hopefully sweet, years of life really are for each of us. Maybe a factor has been seeing so many friends and family (both young and old) go through a battle with cancer. What if we can choose to live each day full of gratitude and happiness rather than remorse or nostalgia? Then this experience we call life takes on a depth and glow so much stronger than the shadows and darkness. We all experience both highs and lows in this life. How we handle and cope and overcome the lows leads to a life outlook that will either ensure a sunny walk, or guarantee a gloomy one.

This is not to say that at times we won't need a friend or wise counsel to guide us, but I wholly believe that each of us has an inner fire and strength than can only be tapped into through purposeful pursuit of our own mental and emotional power. With this passion, people like Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Teresa and many, many more have enacted so much good in this world. So, please, release the weight of pain you are carrying, however you can. This might include journaling, setting intentions, religion, yoga, meditation, or something else. Find your fire and burn a blazing trail of good through your life and this world, however you can. I salute you and would love to hear how you are doing it.

Namaste,
Kat