JOIN USIt is time to bury your past
History is just another story, and so is your past. You can interpret it in several ways. But you know it is unhealthy when you cling onto the bad parts with the “if only” attitude, reckons Advaita Shyam Sunder.
“When we go back into the past and rake up all the troubles we had, we end up reeling and staggering through life. Stability and peace of mind come by living in the moment.”- Pam Vredevelt
Today is the beautiful gift which is wrapped at the foot of your bed. But each morning encounters with its foe ‘the past’. The past is often something that holds us back from enjoying and fully relishing the present moment. It is like a cacophony in the everyday melodious music of your life. Clinging onto the past is detrimental to our mental health. Letting go of the past is imperative. But it is easier said than done.
Welcome the new day
Begin each day in a jolly way. Every new day is too valuable to be cumbered with the old balderdash. Once you finish a day, you better be done with it. You did all that you could. You might have committed a few blunders. You behaved in a silly manner where you weren't supposed to. Still, forget them as soon as you can. Don't let the novelty of the new day be overshadowed by the perturbations of bygone day. How about you greet everyday with open arms as anything new presents you with endless possibility? If you treat every new day as a once in a lifetime event, your life will be much more exciting and refreshing.Learn to breathe. Literally.
Nothing is worth breaking your head over. The past continuously torments you and doesn’t let you get on with the flow of life. All that incessant chatter inside your mind needs to stop. Meditation helps in calming your mind. Clarity sets in from composure and quiet. Knowing that meditation is tough for many as it needs too much concentration, start with few minutes. If you have troubling focusing on your breathing, any soft stress-free or transcendental meditation music can help you along.
Accept your history
Accepting your life the way it is gives you power. When you accept your past for whatever it gave you or taught you, it will stop having power to control you. When you deny, the past comes back again saying ‘you better face the fact’. In order to let go of the animosity, bitterness and anger associated with your past, you need to accept it. It helps you cope with all the burdens of the past. Once if you have been hurt, let it go. The moment you accept things the way they are, you control the mind than the other way round. Analyse your past
Analysing your past is not a problem. But when you feel stressed after a certain point, and you still do it anyway, that is when you have a big problem. It leads to self-destructive behaviour. Identifying the things or people that hurt you will help you to stay away from them. Thereby, anything that triggers memories of your past will be discarded from your life. That is good. But you must not dwell on it along the lines of “If only I had (or not)...”.
Re-align with yourself
Take a moment and write down your core values, life goals, and actions you are taking to pursue them. When you get an honest view about yourself, you will know whether you are progressing or regressing. Wherever you find that you are moving backwards, figure out what is holing you back. This way you will be able to get a more objective opinion about yourself. And this means you will solve your past problems yourself, without dwelling on it too much.
Find your unique expression
Indulge in an activity that soothes you, on a regular basis. It could be dancing. It could be exercising. It could even be baby-sitting. And if it is writing that feels like a therapy to you, you are really lucky! Because that way you could maintain a diary for all your daily happening. That way you will be able to record your past and you wouldn’t have to wrack your brains to analyse it. It will all be jotted down for you. And if you aren’t into writing, it is okay. Just make sure the activity is a stimulative one, preferably physically too.