Moving On

Hi All - Last week I stayed lost in memories of the buildup and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  I'm always fascinated by the way our minds work.   Last week, all thoughts led in one direction.  After a marathon weekend of watching coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the recovery, and participating in the Resilience Walk, I am ready to put the past behind me (where it belongs, by the way) and come back into the present.

So, being me, I have been thinking about how our minds direct our actions, and how sometimes, our minds won't let us redirect.

I wonder why this is true.

Is it a self-preservation instinct from long ago?  Do we need to relive certain events, so that with each reliving the memory becomes less sharp as we superimpose our experiences since the event on the stored memory?   In this reliving, do we come to understand things, to see things differently, and to learn critical survival skills?

Is it a way of reconnecting with people we have lost?  I get stuck in memories of my Dad every year around his birthday, and the anniversary of his death.  In the early years, I cried a lot.   Now, I laugh, and celebrate what a magical man he was and how VERY lucky I was to have him for my Dad.  I think my mind forcing me to remember has allowed me to strongly reconnect with the good memories.   I still miss him like crazy, but at first I had lost the good memories to the sadness.  As my mind forced me to dwell on my Dad a couple of times a year, the good memories crowded out the bad.

As my regular readers know, I am a big fan of trying to create the illusion of control in my life.   I try to redirect my thoughts when they head in a bad direction, because I know my actions and interactions follow the path of my thoughts.

I call this being strong-willed.   But I accept that sometimes, despite my best efforts, I dwell on events and truths that are sad and/or isolating.   I am trying to accept that if my mind strongly leads me to dwell on something that makes me sad or uncomfortable, I need to embrace that and learn the lesson or make the evolution that I need to be a better person.

Everything that happens to us can make us stronger, more compassionate, more caring people.   Sometimes to get to the point where you can bring good out of a bad or sad experience, you will need a lot of processing time.

The tragic things that happen to us are always tragic.   Heartbreak is heartbreak, and a broken heart heals with a scar.  Lost loved ones are forever missed.

But with every heartbreak and loss, you can become more.

More resolute to make the world a better place.

More compassionate to those who are suffering.

More open to forgiving those who need your forgiveness.

More loving to everyone you meet.

Be more, my friends.   Live with intention, love with abandon, laugh with enthusiasm, give with generosity, forgive with an open heart.

We can all make the world a better place.  One intentional action at a time.