Good-Bye Yesterday, Hello Today

Many of us are unable to move forward with our lives because we refuse to let go of what no longer exist: YESTERDAY. The portal to yesterday is permanently closed; gone out of business. It is non-existent; a mere idea of what once was.

It is disconcerting that so many, many people are stuck in the unyielding grip of what happened to them in yesteryears. They experience great difficulty living in the present. Yes, their bodies are here, but their minds and souls float around lost in the non-existent twilight of yesterday.

Perhaps this misfortune is made even more tragic by the fact that many of these folks are just carrying around a lot of old trash that's stale and stinky and need to be disposed of. The reason many of us cannot climb to higher heights is because the garbage we cling to weighs us down.

You know people and I know people who still carry grudges and hostility and resentment in their hearts over something some man or woman did to them yesterday. Some of us cannot maintain a decent relationship with our parents because of something they did to us or did not do for us years ago that we still carry around with us. Many a friendship has been sacrificed because one or both of the individuals cannot move beyond what happened yesterday.

It was Shakespeare who said, "What is gone and past help should be past grief" We cannot grow and enjoy our ever-so-fleeting present because we are regular visitors to that non-existent place of yesterday where we lick our wounds and feel sorry for our "mistreated" selves. Thus, we cannot change with the times or gather new stars. We can't move on to newer discoveries and experience new things. We have found a resting place in our sad little non-existent twilight of yesterday. But until we are able to say good-bye to yesterday, we cannot say hello to today and all the wonderful joys of living today will be forfeited.

When we make the decision to give up living in the "then-and-there," we will experience the great joys of living in the "here-and-now." We cannot progress as long as we keep shifting our self development gear into reverse. We keep going backwards into time gone by. We cannot live and enjoy our "now" because we are fixated in the past. Unresolved experiences of the past are the cause of many obstructions and destructions in the present. And as someone said, "No army can march forward on a retreating mind."

A lack of desire to move forward leads to a steady phasing out of existence. Changing times will leave you in the wind of decay. We must make a conscious decision to let go of the past, to release that which no longer serves our growth, and to rebuild upon a new foundation. We must accept and admit the past is over, done, finished, complete and no longer a reality. Yesterday's issues have no room in your today.

Open yourself to the divine power that is available to you today. God's power can neutralize those phantoms of the past and release a healing power within that pervades every aspect of your being. Then, after having been cleansed of all past debris, you can truly live in the present and look forward to the future. The "then-and-there" will lose its control over you. You will be able to say, goodbye yesterday, hello today. Rejoice in your today experience!

HONEY, THAT WAS THEN

No, I don't hold any grudges dear
I still consider you a friend.
Life goes on you know, time is short
This is now, and honey, that was then.

We all from time to time, I am afraid
Utter hurting words that we don't really mean.
But as we grow and learn about ourselves
We know others aren't as bad as they once seemed.

You see, my dear, we cannot afford to linger
On past pains and hurts and things that we regret.
The life we've yet to live is still before us
A destiny demanding it be met.

So lets' give each other a great forgiving hug
And let our mutual love fuse and blend.
The mistakes we made we will no longer dwell,
For this is now, and honey, that was then.

From "Room Beneath the Snow."

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: A Grief Management Workbook, will be available soon.