Chapter 80. No do-overs.
December 29, 2014
He turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed. —Robert Frost
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Remember when you were a kid and there were “do-overs”? You know, that verbal declaration that you blurted out in the hopes of getting a second chance in a game without it having to cost you anything. Maybe you were playing jump rope, and three skips in you suddenly tripped, so you proclaimed do-over with that hopeful tone in your voice. Only to hear your friend quickly retort “no do-overs”. You were crushed.
Well that’s kind of what we do every year at this time as adults—as the New Year approaches we proclaim do-overs by coming up with a list of resolutions that we feel will somehow overcome all the short-comings we had last year. Those times we tripped. Maybe we ate too much cake or spent a little too much money.
Well you know what? There are no do-overs. You don’t want a do-over and you don’t need a do-over. The past is the past. What’s done is done. Not only has the paint dried, but the water that is under the bridge is filled with the tears you cried over the spilled milk—and that’s great! You don’t need to feel crushed because it means the only resolution you need to make in 2015, is to forget about your past and get on with living your life—in the Now.
Imagine this New Year you could erase all memory of your past from your brain entirely, leaving nothing more than a blank canvas. Who would you be? Without a history of yourself, no story to define you, who would you be?
If you think about it, you’ll discover that you’re really nothing more than the “you” that is existing right now, in the present, at this very moment. It’s probably a little difficult to comprehend because most of us rarely think of ourselves only within the reality of the present. But what other reality is there?
Strangely enough, the vast majority of us create a concept of our reality based on our past—our history. I say a concept, because that reality does not exist. It only exists in our minds. We allow ourselves to define a reality of ourselves through our past experiences. Experiences that quite often are filled with negativity. But why? Why hold onto a reality that no longer exists? When we do so, we burden ourselves with feelings of failure and guilt and we stay shackled to our past rather than freeing ourselves to enjoy the only true reality of now.
If you’re going to resolve to make a change in yourself in 2015, let it be that you will change how you see yourself. Resolve to not define yourself with the burden of your past. Clear your mind and see yourself in this very moment, today—perfect, and capable of being anything you want to be.
As the New Year approaches I am resolving to be.
And in doing so I am resolving to do the things that will help me be the person I want to be:
Smile at strangers.
See more clearly.
Listen with an open heart and a closed mouth.
Hold my hugs for one second longer.
Enjoy moments for what they are. Moments.
Forgive and Forget.
Sleep longer.
Look at my phone less.
Meditate.
Look forward.
Be gracious.
Wander with purpose.
Welcome life.
Collect more love. Store less hate.
Live what I believe.
Look less for, and more at.
Embrace what I don’t know.
Do what I’m afraid to do.
Change my mind.
Change my world.
My wish for everyone is that in 2015 you will make a resolution to just be.
More to come.
Tremors in the Universe is available in e-book, paperback and hardcover through Balboa Press @ http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000956591/Tremors-in-the-Universe.aspx or at http://www.tremorsintheuniverse.com
A portion of the authors proceeds are being donated to the National Parkinson Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
Tremors in the Universe Copyright © 2014 by Robert Baittie
Follow me on Twitter @RobertBaittie
