The past is over and will not invade your present unless you let it.

Greetings from My Mountain Cabin,

Imagine yourself in a helicopter flying over a lake. It is a beautiful sunny day with nary a cloud in the sky. The water is calm and serene, yet to be disturbed by early afternoon breezes.

Below you, a boat is making progress through the water. The boat may be propelled by a gasoline engine, electric motor, manually operated oars, or sail—it really does not matter.
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A wake is produced by the boat's prow as the vessel moves along the surface. To a casual observer, the illusion is that the boat is being drawn through the water at the apex of the wake, as if some sort of wave phenomena results in the boat's movement. The watercraft appears to be pulled along its course by an invisible water-borne animating force.

This is not accurate, since the boat's method of propulsion is the source of its movement toward its destination. In fact, the wake is a visual reminder of where the boat has been at a previous moment in time. The waves to either side of the boat have been produced by the boat moving forward, and are not the actual cause of its movement.

Anything located in the wake—a plastic bottle carelessly discarded overboard, a small wooden branch that brushed up against the boat's hull, your sunglasses or sailing cap blown from your head by a gust of wind, a guest who has outworn his welcome that you have booted over the rail—are part of the boat's past.

Should the skipper of the boat choose to reencounter or reclaim that which lies back in her wake, she will need to make a 180 degree turn and cross through the waves already produced by the vessel's travel.

... and so it is in your own life.

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The events that have occurred in your past reside in your wake. They are not propelling you along your course; they are not the engines responsible for your movement. If you allow what has happened long ago or even this morning to compromise your present, you will be consenting to revisit them.

You are the captain of your ship and solely responsible for the course of your vessel. You can sail straight ahead, or circle in your own wake as you choose. This can provide sparkling moments as you recall peak experiences in your life, or be a trap if you are attempting to change or simply reconcile negative incidents that have gone before. This latter action is futile.

Obsessing over woulda-coulda-shoulda moments is a matter of choice.
• a hasty comment said in anger that has haunted you since
• poor choices or lack of effort in your educational or career preparations
• not attaining a personal goal that seemed so important at the time
• laughing at an insensitive comment or joke solely to go along with the group
• a misguided business choice resulting in a financial loss
• that special someone that you were too shy to ask out on a date
• that extra glass (or several) of spirits at last night's party
... you know the drill.

There are no mistakes, only learning experiences. The boat that is your life seeks to sail ever forward. Let the past remain in the past. Leave it in the wake, learn, grow, sail on. Allow your life to unfold as it should.

"The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself." ~John Rousmaniere

Be well, do good work, keep in touch,
Ed

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