Reflections of Yesterday Can Create A Better Tomorrow
Reflections of Yesterday Can Create A Better Tomorrow
Everyone has a past, some good, some bad. We call it the past because it is behind us, in the distance. History teaches us that if we cannot reflect on our past, it destines us to repeat it. As we enter this new season of our lives, it is always good to take a moment and reflect on it because Reflections of Yesterday Can Create A Better Tomorrow.
“Time never tires of running,”
-Amad (The great Egyptian poet)
With a new year comes new opportunities. Opportunities to grow. Opportunities to serve others. Opportunities to create a better existence for ourselves, our Loved ones, and the world.
With a new year come new challenges. Challenges to us personally. Challenges to our families. Challenges to our tribe. Challenges to our world as we know it.
But we, as people of humanity, can face these challenges and overcome them. We have the power within us collectively and individually to overcome any obstacle that life puts in front of us, no matter the circumstance.
As long as people of humanity have existed, wrongs have happened. We have carried injustices out. Some in the name of progress, some in the name of greed, and some in seek of power.
In order to overcome our past and prevent from making the same mistakes, we, as people of humanity, must reflect and take an honest look at ourselves individually in order to prevent the past from reoccurring in our future.
Reflecting on the past does not mean standing in it, it means standing on it.
Merriam-Webster defines reflection as:
Reflection noun
: a thought, idea, or opinion formed, or a remark made because of meditation[1]
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
-Confucius
Reflecting on the past does not mean standing in it, it means standing on it. Your past does not make you who you are, it merely makes you where you are. Reflecting on it is how we do not repeat it. We all have made mistakes; we all know that. But if we are to move forward into a bright new era, we must reflect on what did not serve us and change it.
In the definition above, we should take special not to the instructions given:
In order to change the way life has been will require humanity, starting with ourselves, to think different thoughts. Thoughts lead to emotions. Emotions lead to ideas. Ideas lead to action. Action leads to change.
Reflection should start with ourselves first. In this fast-paced society, we now live in a time where spending time alone without distractions is exceedingly difficult for us. We have grown accustomed to the distractions. Some would say addicted to them.
Timothy Wilson, a social psychologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and colleagues, conducted a test and recruited hundreds of undergraduates and community volunteers to take part in “thinking periods.”
The results were shocking. When given the choice of being shocked by pushing a button while being left alone by themselves or not, 67% of males, and 25% of women shocked themselves because they could not entertain themselves with cell phones and outside distractions removed for the environment there were in.[2]
Arabic Proverbs: Mafish Halawa Min Gheir Nar:
Translation: There is no sweetness without fire.
Meaning: Nothing good comes easy.
Self-reflection is difficult, especially with outside distractions. My suggestion is to start slowly. Go for a small walk and do not look at your phone. Extend the time until you get comfortable without it for a short while.
When you are ready, start reflecting. Reflecting on the past should be constructive, with no judgements or guilt attached.
Your past does not make you who you are, only where you are.
-Joseph Binning, author
Reflecting on the past should be constructive, with no judgements or guilt attached.
Start with the old self. Reflect on:
Mistakes and patterns from the past and how they served you or didn’t.
Your attitude towards life and those around you.
Your spirt and how you nurtured it or didn’t.
Your strengths and victories and how they served you or didn’t.
Your weakness and defeats and what can be learned from them.
Your attitude overall and how it served you or didn’t.
Next reflect on your Spirit. Reflect on:
Your belief system. Did it serve you or not?
Your open mindedness or lack of. Did it serve you or not?
Did you feel centered and connected to your source or not?
Did you test all things or take it on faith they were your truth?
Were you kind and did you protect them from yourself or not?
Did you put them first or not?
Did you serve them or not?
Next reflect on your new self. Reflect on:
What can you change to make yourself a better person for you?
How can you show yourself more self-Love in order to Love better?
How can you empower yourself in order to empower others better?
How can you be humbler in order to show others more humility?
Next reflect on the future. Reflect on:
Reflect on learning to leave the past behind you in order to protect today.
Reflect and envision the feats and memories you want to create in your future.
Reflect on how you can help more people outside of your tribe.
Reflect on the legacy you want to leave behind.
“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”
-Confucius
History will repeat itself unless we acknowledge our past. We need not stand in it, but on it. Stand on your story, not in it. By learning to be still long enough for your inner voice to speak to you, so you might hear what it has to say that will make your tomorrow a brighter day. Therefore Reflections of Yesterday Can Create A Better Tomorrow.
History will repeat itself unless we acknowledge our past.
Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
-Babe Ruth
I’ve written another article that you might like. You can read it here:
[2] People would rather be electrically shocked than left alone with their thoughts/ Nadia Whitehead/ Jul. 3, 2014, 2:00 PM/accessed 11/AAAS.com/ https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/07/people-would-rather-be-electrically-shocked-left-alone-their-thoughts
Its Christmas day. Family has gathered together. We have exchanged gifts. We have created memories. It’s the one time of the year when all bad roads can be forgotten or forgiven. Because on Christmas Day All Roads Lead Home.
“Blessed is the season which engages the entire world in a conspiracy of love.”
― Hamilton Wright Mabie
Christmas is a time of family. We gather possibly only once a year and exchange memories, there’s always that one Aunt who pinches your cheek even though you’re too old for that. But you let it slide because it’s Christmas.
Christmas is a time for Love. Love of family is the greatest bond known to man. We can test it, even wound it. But it always survives. Because there is no greater Love for a person than the Love, they have in their heart for another.
Christmas is a time to be safe. As we grow, we venture into the world to make our mark. Sometimes that mark leaves scars. Sometimes deep scars. Coming Home for Christmas is our sanctuary. Possibly we visit so it can remind us of times past that we associate with joy to help us heal.
Coming home for Christmas is a way to come back into the fold again.
Coming home for Christmas is a way to come back into the fold again. Knowing we always have a place to return to where those who care for us are and allow us to stay connected or to allow us to reconnect.
Coming home for Christmas adds to the healthy moments we keep locked in our minds that we can draw from when we feel isolated or disconnected with family.
“Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence.”
― Joan Mills
Coming home for Christmas is for friends. That warm connection with those who are closest to us. Close enough that we call them friend. A time to catch up and remember why you are friends.
Coming home for Christmas is not about the tree or the presents.
Coming home for Christmas is not about the tree or the presents.
“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall”
― Larry Wilde
Coming home for Christmas is about sharing. Sharing memories. Sharing Love. Sharing moments.
Coming home for Christmas is about caring. Caring about each other. Caring how they are doing. Caring how they show up in the moment.
Coming home for Christmas is about sharing.
Coming home for Christmas is about giving giving of ourselves to another. Sharing our strength if they need. Sharing their burdens if needed. Sharing the Love you have for them when they need it the most.
And last, coming home for Christmas is about receiving. Receiving the Love given you by others. Receiving the blessing of being family. Receiving the gift of the Spirit of Christmas.
Coming home for Christmas is about giving giving of ourselves to another
As we greet each other and share the moment with each other, lets remember that Christmas is about family and home. Home can be wherever you are, so don’t think you need to travel many miles to return there.
Therefore I say On Christmas Day All Roads Lead Home.
The Greatest Gift You Can Get, Is to Love Yourself, First
The Greatest Gift You Can Give, Is to Love Yourself
We all chase the likes, shares, right swipes, and positive comments. We treat it like it’s a gift. But the greatest gift we can give is to Love ourselves.
Life conditions us, through bad teachings, that love is external. That our love for ourselves relates to the opinions of those who we revere or love in our daily lives. It might be a supervisor or boss. It might be a coach or a teacher. It could be a neighbor, friend, relative, or loved one.
We hear about social media influencers with lots of followers with no actual friends who commit suicide. We wonder why they did it? We ration that they had problems no one could see. No one looked.
Society today tells us we need to be thin, wealthy, fashionable, dating beautiful people, that we need to be seen in all the right places spending time with all the right people. Yet the best person you can spend time with is yourself, alone.
I see it everywhere today. People rushing here and there, constantly looking down at a phone. I’ve been at dinner parties and have seen others focused on someone in another place and were only interested in what they were doing somewhere else, rather than bond with someone directly in front or next to them.
I have a saying I use often, to be Loved, you must be Lovable. In order to be Lovable, you must Love yourself, first.
So, what happens when I Love myself first? Here are a few examples:
I don’t get offended easily
I Love for the right reasons
I can refuse to be with anyone who doesn’t respect me
I attract those who Love themselves into my life
Other’s opinion of me cannot devastate me
Loving yourself requires you to nurture yourself. Be the adult to your inner child. Teach it how valuable it is. Most of all, you need to teach it YOUR values, not someone else’s. Only you can determine your value.
Only you can determine your value.
Many people today do not know how to learn to Love themselves, how to appreciate their own beauty, their glory.
Here are a few suggestions:
Learn to be still. We have two selves, an outer self that feeds on external stimulus and an inner self. We connect our inner self to our source and it will tell us what we need to hear. But you have to be still to hear it.
Talk less and listen more. Stop telling yourself what you need or don’t need. Be still and listen to your inner self. Connect with your source, whatever that might be.
Stop chasing people. When you chase after anything, it will repel away from you. It’s the natural order. When you stop chasing things, you allow what you need to be attracted to you.
Remind yourself you are not a god. You will make mistakes, it’s natural. This is how we learn. You were never expected to be perfect, so when you make a mistake, remember it, and learn from it.
Know You Are Enough. You are complete as you are. You do not need the perfect friend, outfit, car, or lover to be complete. These things are only an addition to what already complete. If you lose one, you won’t be devastated.
Sometimes I get down, we all do. Sometimes it seems like the sun won’t ever shine in my world. I know it won’t last because everything in life, including dark times, is temporary, but sometimes in the moment it seems like it will never end.
That’s when I remind myself of how valuable I am. I remind myself that I am so valuable that even if I were the only person on the planet, my source would have created all of this just for me. Everything I could see, touch, smell, or hear.
We need to remember that we need to be our own best friends first.
That’s why I say, The Greatest Gift You Can Give, Is to Love Yourself
Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air
Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air
Christmas is not a season; Christmas is a feeling. It fills us with excitement. It can easily remind us of the joy we experienced our first memorable Christmas as a child. It fills our hearts with joy. It brings out the giving side of us. Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air.
It’s the feeling Christmas brings us that lets us bring down our walls and wear ugly sweaters. It’s the excitement of putting up lights on the house, even though its work. It’s buying and decorating a tree. It’s singing along to the Christmas songs on the radio.
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
― Norman Vincent Peale
Christmas is about many things to many people. It has different meanings. Different symbolism. Take away the symbolism and you have a mutual feeling shared by many.
Christmas brings out kindness and charity in people who forget about such things during the year. We feel obliged to drop in an extra dollar in the guy’s pot in the Santa suits ringing a bell.
It helps us to donate to the homeless shelters so those less fortunate can have a meal and for a moment, maybe only a moment, remember days past when things weren’t so tough.
Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air
Christmas just makes us happy. I believe we remember the joy we experienced as children. The excitement of counting the days until Christmas morning. The pure joy we experienced seeing lights on the homes.
We remember neighbors speaking in a friendly way to each other. Possibly the only time they spoke to each other.
It’s a magical time. A time of wonder, joy, excitement, and giving. A time when we as adults can remember what joy actually is. If we can remember.
Between the decorating, the buying of things, the visits to families, and the wrapping of presents, the endless wrapping of presents. As adults, we can be so busy with Christmas that we forget to enjoy it.
The spirit of Christmas lives in our hearts. We locked it away in there as children because we enjoyed it so much. Sometimes we just need to remember Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air
Its Christmas In Our Hearts That Puts Christmas In the Air
The Spirit of Christmas Doesn’t Come from A Store, The Spirit of Christmas Means So Much More
The Spirit of Christmas Doesn’t Come from A Store, The Spirit of Christmas Means So Much More
It’s that time of the season again when we all rush about to get that perfect present for the ones we love, the perfect gift, the perfect ingredient for the perfect meal, or the perfect outfit. But the Spirit of Christmas doesn’t come from a store, the Spirit of Christmas means so much more.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
It’s easy to get caught up in the logistics of the Christmas season. But we cannot buy the true Spirit of the season, we must give it.
But we cannot buy the true Spirit of the season, we must give it.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is of a mother and her young daughter who were racing about doing the last-minute shopping before Christmas.
Frazzled, tired, and with a lack of patience from a long day of crowds and parking lots, the mother and daughter embarked on one last store for one last gift.
After entering the store, the mother turned to her young daughter and said, “did you see the look that woman gave me?”. The young daughter replied with all the wisdom of her youth and replied “oh, she didn’t give you that look mommy, you’ve had it all day”.
It’s easy to get caught up in the trappings of the season and remember that the true Spirit of the Christmas season is in the giving of one’s self to another. We cannot purchase this in any store.
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” ― Calvin Coolidge
Christmas is more than a day to receive, it’s a day to BELIEVE. Believe in peace on Earth, just for one day. Belief in Joy to the World, just for one day. Belief in the birth of a Savior. Belief in a jolly old fat man with a sleigh pulled by reindeer delivering presents to all the good children around the world.
Every child has two eyes and no two see the same view. But the joy seen threw the eyes of a child never disappears in its memories of Christmas. That’s the Spirit of Christmas. Wonder. Excitement. Joy. Sharing. Giving of one’s self to another. Caring. Joy. We can purchase none of which.
That’s why I say The Spirit of Christmas Doesn’t Come from A Store, The Spirit of Christmas Means So Much More.
