The Cherokee People have a proverb that infuses this last day of 2016 with meaning worth considering. It says, “Do not let yesterday take up too much of today.”
Reflections on This Past Year
For many, this year has been a tough one – one filled with uncertainty, heartache, disappointment and confusion. If you are one of those “many,” then you understand. You are ready for tomorrow. You are ready for a New Year! You harbor hopes of Good Fortune in the days ahead. You look forward to finding light at the end of your tunnel . . . Yet, as you stand at the edge of the beginning of a New Year, the negative experiences of 2016 threaten to disrupt your hopes.
For others of you, this last day of 2016 is a day to reflect on a year filled with positive experiences. Your year has delivered at every turn! Success has been your constant companion! From where you stand, peering into the New Year ahead brings noting but continued success!
Both perspectives are realities. Both perspectives create expectations. Both perspectives tend to guide our steps. Both perspectives require examination.
Looking Ahead to 2017
You see, allowing either perspective of to take up too much space in our today limits our ability to respond to the events of the present. None of us are guaranteed either positive or negative sets of circumstances. We are likely to face a combination of both positive or negative circumstances. Allowing a past characterized with more positive than negative to fill our today might cause us to miss opportunities to embrace disappointment, pain or loss and learn how to tap our personal resiliency. Allowing a past characterized by more negative that positive to fill our today might cause us to stop believing in possibility and keep ourselves trapped in a world of despair.
The answer? We must learn how to glean lessons and wisdom from each yesterday (positive or negative) and bring those with us into each new day we live. The cumulative effect can be a balanced perspective of life that helps us embrace the reality that life is both. Instead of filling today with either, why not reserve space in each today for the creation of a life of our choice. We have that chance when we “Do not allow yesterday take up too much of today.”
Peace!
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