Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19).
The past is something we can do nothing about, but many of us struggle to let it go. I believe you do not arrive at letting go completely and everyone is at a different place. As long as we live, we will always be creating a past. Yesterday is the past and every yesterday after it is too. There is a lot to be remembered from out past.
I have worked in the mental health profession. I understand that mental illnesses like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are very different. You cannot just let it go. I battle PTSD myself and it is a struggle to shed the trauma. Night terrors are common for us. Sounds, scents, scenes, images, and people will take us back to the past in any given moment. We constantly are fighting the barriers of constantly struggling while carrying the past. Time helps with some traumas, but others may remain longer than we want, and it comes with the illness.
What do we do if we wear it like a garment? If we wear it like the clothes, we put on every day. How do we get over it? We talk about it to anyone who will listen, and they too get tired of hearing about it.
There is no letting go without taking inventory of what has us stuck in the past. Paul said it so well in the above scripture. He said he did not count himself as if he had arrived, but still he pressed forward. I am not writing this that I have arrived either. I know as Paul knew that letting go is hard to master. I know that as life goes on, I too will create a past I am struggling to leave behind. I do know that as long as I live, I will press and take off as many pieces of my past as I can.
So many people scream “just let it go at people” this is not the way people handle their past and everyone is different. I find people say they have let it go, but when they talk about their past it is as if they are still there and stuck. They say I have let it go but they wear it. It’s like they sit with it. I too struggle with this, so I am in no way judging just merely diving into what we do with our past.
Isaiah had a divine way of illustrating letting go and letting God do a new thing in our lives. As divine as it was it was also true. If we hang too much on what was how can God do the new things? He wants to give a present and a future that puts the past behind us. As much as this is easily written or said, living it is the mastery we need.
So how do we put this past back on the manikin and leave it there. Well put it back on the manikin piece by piece as life rolls on. As long as we live, we will be shedding a little of our past at a time.
There is a lot to be considered about shedding pieces of the past. It takes time and change how we view our past. Memories of what was will not stop for all of us. Sometimes not letting go is rooted in thinking we are losing something if we hold on. Many years ago, I was angered at someone telling me to let it go. They were wrong in thinking I would just snap out of it.
No one snaps out of looking into the past. The art of beginning to stop wearing it everywhere we go is a process. It can take years of dealing with our past to make peace with the parts that still hurt us.
Therapy is a good place to work on the past and create a better future. Support groups are a good way to have a community of support based on your issues. This can be trauma, domestic violence, childhood, or adult abuse etc.
Another way is not sitting idly by every day. Fill your day with activities. A lot more people are out of work nowadays. There is also a large part of the workforce that works from home. You need a community to help you cope with life and move forward. Children need a village, but adults do too.
Wearing the past like a garment is something we all struggle with. The mastery is in striving to take one layer off at a time.
Resilient Inspired Spiritual Excellence R.I.S.E. 