Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

October 15, 2018

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” –Maya Angelou

The past can be painful.  This pain may be connected to traumas we experienced in childhood or painful situations we caused or experienced in our adult lives.  We cannot change the past.  In recovery, we learn to look at our past, accept it, and move forward with courage so that we do not live it again.  Courage in recovery takes many forms: rigorous honesty, acknowledging and admitting our character defects, making amends to those we have harmed, vulnerability by admitting our mistakes and struggles, and willingness to face our past traumas, to name a few.  We will always be responsible for the wreckage in our wake but we need not recreate the past and live it again.

When have I felt pain about my past?  Did I run from the pain of my past and ignore advice that was given to me?  Did I face the pain of my past and follow the advice?  What were the consequences?  What gifts await me as I face my past with courage?