What I love about this quote (besides the fact that Maya Angelou is a Queen) is that it brings us to another point on the faith axis. I’ve talked plenty about faith in the sense of us having no control over outcomes. This perspective looks at the other side of that outcome and says “Hey! You made it!” There may have been some challenges along the way, maybe some mistakes were made, obstacles to overcome. But you eventually arrived (and continue to arrive) and you have a choice once again. You can look back at the journey and beat yourself up for the road(s) that you took OR you can remind yourself that just like we can’t predict the future, we also can’t change the past.

So where does this bring us? You guessed it, the present!! It’s okay to look back and think of the mistakes you’ve made and the lessons you’ve learned. What is not in the least helpful is wishing you could change the past. You KNOW you can’t so tell me, what’s the point in focusing our attention on it? Take your lessons and continue on ahead.

We spend so much time fearing the future and regretting the past, we forget to live within the moment. But the more we live in the moment, reflect in the moment, the more engrained it will become that the present is honestly all we have. I’m not saying the past and the future are not important, I’m just saying that we cannot do anything about them.

Have faith that you are where you are meant to be. Your journey took you here. And now that you are here, you get to decide what step to take next. Let go of any grievances you have with your past self. It’s not serving you in any way. I promise. Acknowledge that you have learned many things in life. And have faith that you will learn many more.

I’m just happy that your journey brought us together! Love you!

Rabbi Gabi