Using the Past

You aren’t who you are in spite of your past but because of it. – Anonymous Beloved Yoga Teacher

A wise teacher once said the above to me and it has had a profound effect on my life. I often find myself quoting it in class to my own students. So often we look back our past and only see the failures and tribulations and wonder, “What if…” We find ourselves feeling sorry for events that have taken place in our lives, opportunities missed and challenges not met.

What we need to do instead, is be thankful for those past failures because each one taught us something about ourselves. Even Donald Trump has filed bankruptcy three times and you didn’t see him running home with his tail between his legs. He just put on a new clump of hair, called himself The Donald, and learned from what didn’t work to create the next successful business.

Today’s contemplations is this: What adversities brought you to this leg of your journey? How did you turn that adversity around to make lemonade out of lemons? How can you continue to sip the sweet nectar of your past and turn it into brightness for your future?