Day 8: What are you Tethered to?

A struggle consciousness… It’s a hard thing to break away from. Society reports it on the news, whole industries capitalize on it, politicians bathe in it, coffee shops buzz with it… the chatter of what’s wrong, what’s not working, who’s at fault. Even when I think I’ve shifted my perspective to a glass half full, I still notice remnants of being tethered to a past that has some broken pieces.

Yet, that past exists no where else but in my mind. As I remember it, I recreate it… and store it in my physical body.

This morning I bent over to pick something off the floor. As I did, the memory that yesterday my back hurt entered my mind before I even felt any physical discomfort. I stopped myself mid-thought and wondered, “How much of our present is just our past recreated, maybe wearing a different outfit, but still being dragged into the now?”

Even when we’ve overcome a major obstacle in our lives, do we truly move on or do we now use that as a reference point to say, “look how far I’ve come” — still tethered to the event of the past? The human mind needs to compare to feel good. The heart does not. It only needs the present moment to bask in beauty.

Today I shall take note of where I’m still anchored to my past and where I have a wonderful opportunity to re-write the past I’m recollecting. If we’re going to continue to recollect memories, we may as well choose beautiful ones to float through our minds.

Oh, I hear the birds outside my window. They too agree. Enjoy a wonderful weekend.