Take Out the Trash

Not too long ago I picked up some old journals that I had kept from a few years back. It was fun reliving some of good times that I had. I even laughed out loud at some of the things my kids or my husband had said or done. All was well until I started reading one particular year that was not so good. It was during a really rough patch in my marriage of almost 40 years. As I sat on the bed reading some of the stuff I had written, I started getting angry.  I was as angry as if it had happened yesterday. All of sudden my happy mood had turned sullen and blue. I could feel the anxiety in my body as I tensed up reliving some of those bad times. My jaw was tight and my teeth were clenched. I was angry at my husband all over again, who was downstairs watching TV, totally oblivious to what was going on upstairs...that I was reliving some old, ugly stuff.

As I sat there with my mouth poked out, my hands clenched, I decided right then to stop...stop reading, to stop reliving a part of my life that was no longer relevant. I knew then that some things that happen to you, you just don't need to keep reliving over and over. We had gotten through that rough patch, why relive it again? I decided to throw that particular journal away. It had served its purpose. I had moved on...we had moved on.

Our lives should change for the good.  If we keep recycling the trash of our lives and reliving the bad over and over, we destroy the opportunities for a brand new start.  We have the opportunity to make a fresh start now. So take the garbage out of your life. Set it out with the trash and keep it out!.