Relationships! Understanding!

They are two confusing words. 

Have you ever had your past meet you head on as you turn a corner? It blindsides you with a vengeance. The present and the past converging, taking the same space at the same time.  The mix of memories and emotion pulling you into feeling states you thought you had either lost or forgotten.  

Fair? No! But maybe necessary... 

I am sure you have experienced this, with either a past relationship or experience..  We all blend life.  Being prepared for it is something else.  The passion and intensity we feel can be just as explosive now, as it was then.  We have no filters in place, and the ones we use to use are no longer viable.   It floods ones existence. Consequently, we have no protection... 

Does that mean we are at risk?  Does that mean we need protection?  I think not...  I believe our strength can come through our vulnerability.  It can come from facing life rather than protecting ourself for it.  It can come from engaging rather than withdrawing...  But it does come with a price... 

The price? YOU!  The challenge is  to accept the reality of today, with the reality of yesterday..  Neither one replacing the other but converging, giving strength and recognition to who you are and who you need to be....   With some understanding of who you were.  It is funny how the present can shed light on the past, if given the opportunity.  At times, it can even give it meaning...

We often look at our past and question the reality of what was.  We Question what might have been or could have been.  We question how it will affect where we are or where we may be heading...  It can shake the foundation of our protected world.  But protected from what?

We seem to play this dance, be it with something of danger or someone of solace...  Something of regret or someone of passion...  Something than gave meaning to our life or someone we  barely survived...  We don't seem to differentiate between them.  We see them through the same filter...

So, is it fair to look at today through the filter of yesterday?  Is it fair to protect today from yesterday and therefore distort the possibility of tomorrow?  I am not sure I have the answer to these questions but I believe they are worth the time and contemplation. 

I find that if given the chance, finding that yesterday was real can help one not question today..  Sometimes,  we just need a little help from the past to nudge us out of the protection and complacency of today, into the possibility of the future.

I believe it is ok to take a risk.  It is ok to challenge where you are and how you got there.  It is ok to embrace your past with the arms of the present..  Only then can you really find the significance of what has made you who you are today..  And that my friend, is not all bad... 

We don't all get this chance , so if we  do, it is  important to recognize the opportunity and embrace it...  We don't have to be afraid...  It will not consume us...  But, it just may give us understanding into relationships that were never really  given the opportunity to become.....

In that, well, we find a freedom.  A freedom of the spirit and a key that unlocks the confusion of the past..

So, is it  time to make a decision?...  To make a choice?...  I've made mine.... Have you made yours...?  There are no wrong choices, only ones we have to live by...

I believe it is worth the risk...  The risk to take the road less travels..  The road left unexplored.  That road is you....

Until next time...  Throw away that map..  It just might be outdated...   What have you to lose?  What might you gain ?...  The loss of fear...  As my hand finds the safety of my pocket, my fingers tremble with anticipation..

If the  present is the mixture of yesterday, merged with the essence of today, building the foundation of tomorrow...  Then, shouldn't we be fully active today?

Slowly my hand emerges, my fingers relax.  My palm reaches out.  Will yours?