Step out of your past and into the now.

Are you a past cat?

There are many of us who love our memories, so much so that we live in them constantly. It is natural to reminisce and to project backwards for a little nostalgia, but when you decide to hold permanent residence in the past…not good.

Can you Step out of your past and into the now?

Ask this…

• Do you have a lot of regrets?
• Can you forgive?
• Do you share your ‘story’ often, so much that your family could repeat it?
• Do you look only at situation that have happens as a guide to live now?
• Do you bring up past events like they were yesterday?
• Do people remind you of what decade you are in now?
• Are you memories hoarder; holding on to pictures, keepsakes and small trinkets that are part of your past.

I got news for you my silly cat; you are a past-situation cat.

It is not uncommon or realistic to want to drive down memory lane. It is also true that stressful or big events will stick with us longer and for some there can be difficult times to ‘get past.’ I get it. Even the good memories are hard to let go of.

For  most of us, our memories are there to take us on a journey back to a different time; to learn lessons, gain experiences and then move forward to create more memories. When you add a little time between them, the memories can seem better now then before.  But are they really?

If you’re not careful you can allow these memories to be who you are now.

Living in your past could make you miss living now.

KT Cat Paws

Here are some suggestions…

• Watch what you say. Take a few days to just listen to your conversation to see what comes up. What your thoughts too. See if you really do bring up a lot of old scenarios or situation that have happened. Do you see a lot of eye rolling? See if you get uncomfortable sharing your ‘now’ story with others or if your future story seems blank. Many are uncomfortable making plans or looking forward, so much so that they will only look back. In many cases we do believe that our past was ‘better’ then now and that was who we are. Yes, it was who we are, but if you are alive then you are who you are now too which is the person reading this post.

• Recognize that what you are looking at when you look backwards is filtered by time, different experiences and age. We don’t get a doo-over so we project our now mind into our past mind. There are people out there who believe you can change your past. I believe you can change your now thoughts about your past which can allow you to view it as a positive experience and/or release it so it doesn’t affect you. We are what we eat they say, well, we are also what we have experienced and think, but that doesn’t have to be all.

• The past history you are visualizing is a thought and thoughts are projections. Yes, the experiences you had are real, but the thought that creates them is not. I’ll prove it. Can you change the scenario of a past event in your head right now? What is real is the emotion you put toward that memory. Some place too much emotion upon a past event, so much so that they keep getting pulled back there. It is possible to ‘think’ about something without adding any emotion to it.

• Being stuck in the past is an attempt at control. It is an attempt to fight change too. Sorry my kitty-cat, but you can’t. Even if you were to go back, it would be the same. Time ages us and the things around us. We can no longer control our past, just as we can’t control our future. We can take action to create change in our now. Be in gratitude about your experiences, accept that they ‘are what they are’ and step gently into the future…now.

• Stop blaming others for what happened to you, forgive yourself, and make the decision to release regrets. You have to let go of the tug of war you have having with that chain from the past. Don’t worry, you will still be you. The only reason those memories affect you is because YOU refuse to let go. Keep in mind that you are not releasing the memories, just the emotional chain that keeps you there.

• Try living in the now and not focusing on what happened yesterday, 2 weeks ago or 5 years ago. Just today, right now. Be in the present and accept the zen of it. It may seem hard, but I promise that the more you do it the more natural it will become. It is also refreshing; cause when you keep going backwards it begins to feel old.

There are many tips on this site for staying present-tips even a kitten can teach!

The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.

-Cesare Pavese

 Tell me, do you hold on to your past? How do you continue to stay present?

Peace, Hugs and Purrs..KT

#throwbackthursday (good time to discuss memories, right!)