Dooley Noted: 7/10/2014
My dear friend Dr. Frankie Scali once made a keen observation to me.
In the good doctor’s eyes, depressed people live in the past, while anxious people live in the future. He noted the only chance one has at being happy is to be in the here and now.
For the most part, no one cares what you did in the past, unless they are judgmental and not worthy of your time. The feats you’ve endured, no matter how detrimental or spectacular, are often a distant memory from the surface of those around you.
Look at George Foreman. He used his past to propel his present, and people know him more for a grill they currently use rather than a fight he won.
Remembering how little the past truly means, we can let go of most of the depression – or oppression – by simply acknowledging the past and offering our bow to it. Then, we move on, leaving it in the past where it belongs.
When I feel myself bound by my past, I imagine those events are a harness, preventing me from propelling forward. All I have to do is release what is strapping me back, and I propel forward.
You can be who you were, or live in the now.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley