Take Courage …
I find myself sharing this quote from Faulkner with clients and friends often; “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”(1) Our past is what has shaped and formed us (or deformed us) in every way. In every way. Our past is always playing out in our present … and predicts and shapes our future.
Depending on our past experiences and relationships, this truth is either gratifying news … or daunting. Pause a moment and think about your own past.
Are you aware of the specific ways it continues to influence and define your current realities, hopes, and relationships?
Do you think your past is positively or negatively influencing your life and choices? How so and in what ways?
Often we’re not aware of the way our past “controls” who and how we are in the present or the future we are moving toward. Instead we find ourselves struggling with negative thinking or self-talk, destructive or sabotaging behavior patterns or addictions, difficult relationships, a lack of fulfillment or joy in life. etc. We often don’t associate the hard stuff in our life with our stories and our past … we see these as problems we can’t seem to fix rather than as symptoms indicating we have unresolved pain, hurt, and confusion from our past.
All of us, each and every day, are always telling a story about ourselves in our heads. These stories have originated in our past and make us who we are—holding sway over our lives— controlling our choices, behaviors, and relationships.
If you’d like to take a closer look at the ways your past is connected to your present reality, let’s talk about therapy or sign up to join a story group.
William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun, 1950.
