Look Forward, Not Back

Every morning when Gidget and I set out on our run-walk, she keeps looking back. It drives me crazy because we're trying to get through a route and her looking back keeps us from going forward. Running competitively, I was always taught to not look back because the energy invested in turning your head and torso would slow you down. 

This morning I finally asked her, "Why is it that you can't look forward, you have to look back?"

This is true for many people who get caught in the past that they can't look forward; all they can think about is what happened in the rearview mirror. And it can be especially true for people who have suffered losses because their energy is tuned into what they don't have anymore. Looking back means they don't lose hold of that person or the memories.

But what people fail to realize is that even when you go forward, you don't lose the past or anything in it. That's yours to keep. But by constantly looking back you're devoting your energy into something that already happened, that has already passed. And by doing that, you're missing out on the future.

Just like Gidget forgets that home will be there in twenty minutes when we return.