We Are Not Defined By Our Past

Make a pact with yourself today not to be defined by your past. We grew up in a world of confusion. Adults seemed scary. Uncles, aunts, and neighbors appeared to be in on a secret that we were not. Teachers were often intimidating. School administrators were threatening. Who could we turn to for help? We had meager resources. Our peers were just as confused and clueless. Is it any wonder we messed up? We were traveling through strange territories with no map, no guide and lots of false intelligence. We had to make colossal decisions in the spur of the moment: who to let touch our bodies, what substances to put in our bodies, who we could trust, who we couldn’t trust, what houses were safe to enter, who was telling us the truth, which of our friends was capable of betraying us, and dozens more. Our own likes and dislikes were being developed on the run. Is it any wonder we made mistakes? We had to make many of these decisions with people we were just randomly growing up with- people we may not have known a year later. We had no one to ask for honest advice. And the more dysfunctional our family of origin, the younger we found ourselves in these confusing situations. Forgive yourself right now for anything you did before you gained the wisdom to know any better. It wasn’t your fault.

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