Audiobook - NF - Self Help - 1st Person
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US Midwest- Chicago, Great Lakes)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
tomorrow was never much of an issue for me. I didn't worry or feel anxious about what was just up ahead. I wouldn't even know how to regret the future since I hadn't messed it up yet. In fact, I rather liked the idea of the future because I'd get a fresh start I guess. I just didn't want to live like there was no tomorrow anyway. If today was all we had and there wasn't going to be a tomorrow, I didn't know where hope would come from yesterday. On the other hand, is definitely something I can live without. There have been times I dwelled in the past or looked back with both longing and regret. Sometimes the past haunted me, held me or defined limited and frustrated me. Of course the past also held victories, celebrations and happy memories, but it seemed like I needed to dig around to find them in the pile of broken dreams and hurt feelings. If our goal is to live each day with freedom and joy, we have a chance to learn from our past experiences without allowing them to interfere with the happiness and confidence that come from living intentionally. Today a lot has been said, thought, written and sung about yesterday after all, according to the Beatles. Isn't it a place where all our troubles appear to be far away If so, why wouldn't we want to dwell in the past? I've probably spent way too much time looking over my shoulder ruminating on things that have happened or didn't happen in my past. It's not like, I mean to do it, but those yesterdays creep up on me and pretty soon the memories that get rekindled, start burning bright and it's hard to turn away. Dwelling in the past isn't limited to recalling painful negative experiences or memories. We can also focus on good things, celebrations, past experiences and achievements. And even though they're positive, they can still keep us from experiencing the joy and freedom of today. As a kid in sunday school, I heard one bible story that scared the stew out of me. It was the account of Abraham's relative lot who was told to take his family and flee their home before an impending disaster. They were warned not to look back as they ran for their lives to the nearby mountains. Everything was going along Well, we were told until we hit the verse. But lots wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt Genesis. Chapter 19 verse 26 I certainly had no desire to become a pillar of salt, much less a shaker or even a pinch of salt. So I spent my childhood trying not to get caught looking back. Perhaps I was more like lot's wife than I thought because in spite of my childish sense of dread, I spent much of my life looking in proverbial rear view mirrors remembering and ruminating on yesterday, isn't it? Part of our human nature, to see a wet paint sign and instinctively reach out to touch the paint to test if it's really wet. Is it even possible to hear the words don't turn around without immediately turning to see why we aren't supposed to look back. The bible gives some pretty clear direction when it comes to how we deal with yesterday. Forget the former things do not dwell on the past, Isaiah chapter 43 verse 18 I admit it would be so much easier if I just did what the verse tells us to do. Part of my problem might be that even after accepting the implications of that verse and intentionally choosing to do as it says, I get bogged down because right away, I start thinking about the past in order to grasp what things are most important for me to forget, like trying not to think of pink elephants. I end up dwelling on the past. Even as I try not to let it cross my mind, there is no end to the books, articles, ted talks, sermons and blogs encouraging us to focus on the now and forget about the past. You'd think with all this learned and well intentioned encouragement to live in the moment, we wouldn't have a problem after all. How hard can it be to not look back, Especially if like me, you fear becoming a pillar of salt