Feeling nostalgic? That mental journey back to the past may be tempting to do. While in revelry, how many times does your mind wander off to the past? Regardless of whether the past is sad or happy, good or bad, the past provides the easiest route because we have already been there, we know the twists and turns of the road to reach back to it. Unlike the future where it is unknown territory, and we would not know if we still could reach it or get out of it alive.
How many times too that we romanticize returning to the past by calling it with other names – “reminiscing”, ” retrospection”, “memory lane”. But what we do not realize is the flip side – stuckness, wasted energy, and wasted time. The past is already a done deal.
A blog by Dr Art Markman PhD in Psychology Today cited a 2020 study, explaining that “people who rate themselves as more nostalgic tend to have more negative feelings and emotions than those who rate themselves as less nostalgic.”
Reopening old wounds
Oftentimes, we go back to the past to look back at events that we had not been able to process or we feel we had lost the opportunity to get a grasp on – some of those things we wish we could have brought to the present. These nostalgic journeys may bring happiness, warmth, or goosebumps, but may also resurface the guilt, shame, grief, or deep longing that may retard your progress if you are still healing. But yes, if these unpleasant emotions resurface when you start harking back to past events, it means you are (still) healing. Knowing that you are still healing may be good to the extent that you are also progressing. But that will not be the case if you continue to dig into graves and scars of bygone days.
What ifs, what could’ve been’s
You may be thinking about your ex a lot and admit it or not, that thought of getting back with them flashes in your mind. But being obsessed with the thought of exes is setting yourself up for being stuck with a memory that is no longer real but an illusion. Holding on to the what-ifs and what could have been’s with them is denying yourself the chance to grow and to be. More likely than not, as in most post-humous recollections, the bad in the relationship has been glossed over by the illusion of the potential good, had the relationship survived the catastrophe of irreconcilable differences.
Escaping the harsh current moment: Angels’ insights
the other night, I asked my angels, how about those people who are in dire circumstances at the present moment? Hunger, poverty, illness – these are legitimate reasons as to why they keep on straying from the present time and dwell on the past or tinker about the possibilities in the future.
The insight is this: Today’s circumstance is brought on by actions from the past. The more comfortable picture from the past a person “escapes” to is a mirage. In fact, is no longer real. What is real is now. You cannot escape from hunger or poverty or illness but you deal with it. Not passively but actively. Beg if you must (but do not steal) so you can eat; break bones (but do not sell them) if you must so you can have money; see a doctor or find natural healing modalities to cure yourself and make yourself well. Healing yourself is solely your responsibility to your mind, body, and spirit. When you ask (angels) for guidance to lead you to answers, they will tell you and not stray you.
Not everyone knows how to “pray” because some have no religious affiliations, or may not even know that angels exist. But that does not exempt them from receiving graces. The moment they ask help from their heart, from their spirit, help comes.
But why do we have to still ask, why can’t we be helped immediately without asking?
The insight is this: It is because Angels move in humility. Angels come in when the person is ready. Your readiness signals that you are not resistant to however the help will come. Because depending on the circumstances you are in, there might be some alterations of situations that need to occur to reach that help to you. When we create the life we have right now, we also created networks of roads and jungles that the angels need to pave down, traverse and clear to facilitate the aid.
Reality of the present
If you had a happier past than in your current state, it’s time to reflect on how to make this current state a happy one. The only time that you can go over past memories is when lessons have to be learned. Much like taking back a piece of very important belonging from an old apartment, we do not stay long in that place after getting what we need. You need to settle in your new surroundings – the present – to make it fit you rather than you forcing yourself to fit in it. If the present state feels limiting, do not adjust to the limitations but rather, look for ways to expand it instead of confining yourself within those limits. That is not a way to grow. A low roof will stunt your growth, so does a dark room with shut windows. Raise the roof and open the windows to let in the light. Break down the walls or relocate if you must. When you feel expanding, you feel happy. Living in the present time holds the key to your growth. It offers you the opportunity to break into new potentials. These opportunities are limited by fears that the future time presents at its threshold. What matters is the present time, it is real, it is growth, it is an opportunity for happiness. Live in the present and STAY in the present.
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PRAYER to celebrate the present
God I am here, living in the present
with the air
with the life
with the love
that you surround me with.
Keep me always in the company of Angels
so that I may be guided according to your will.
Nourish my spirit in your graces.
Let not the past, whether it is good or bad, dim my light.
Let me not walk back that tunnel in the past
to revisit events that are not going to help me grow.
Instead, let me celebrate them in the present time
as a gift in a sealed box
knowing it is beautiful
and must be treasured, but not to be reopened again.
Allow me to heal in the present time, and relish its promise
of joy, of freedom, of expansion, of love – all these great possibilities I must grasp,
every second, in this gift of life.
Amen.
