You are always free to choose a different future . . . or a different past. Richard Bach

Yesterday, we talked about creating new futures by letting go of the past. Let's take a look at our past today. Whatever has happened in our lives up until today has been cemented into our memories and formed the foundation of who we are. It is over. Gone. It is what it is and we are powerless to change it, or are we?

I was born the youngest of 8 siblings, but more importantly, I was born much later making me the little sister that was never really part of "their childhood" and certainly not a part of my parent's youth. I never really minded. Life was what it was and I didn't question that.

One day, when we were grown, my sister commented that I had grown up in a "different family" than she had. She was right, of course. Our parents had grown and life had changed and the world was a very different place when I came along, but I also realize it was much more than that.

Of course we grew up in different families. Our family is a reflection of our thoughts, our beliefs, our personal perception of the world. My life was different, not because of the people and events that unfolded in my lifetime, but because of my interpretations of those events.

Your life is a reflection of your individual perception, too. What you call reality is nothing more than your interpretation of a series of events you call the past. You can't change the events, but you can change the way you look at them.

If you have pain and hurt and struggles rooted in the past that are holding you back today, make a conscious effort to examine the events that created them and view them from a different light. Come to peace with your personal demons and move forward toward the future knowing you can accomplish your dreams.

Today, I am grateful for the dusting of snow that shimmers like a thousand diamonds in the morning light. I am grateful to hear, to see and to feel. I am grateful for the winter chill that proves I am alive. I am grateful for age and the timeless beauty of remaining forever young in mind and soul. I am grateful for laughter to lift the spirits, for solitude to rest the soul and companionship of family that makes life full.

I am grateful for healing of old wounds, for beginnings and for the hope of what is to come. I am grateful for a past that has molded who I am but has no power to alter my future, unless I allow it. I am grateful for the understanding that I alone can reshape my past by viewing it in a different light and accepting it for what it was and nothing more.

And, I am grateful for you, dear reader, for allowing me to share what I have learned and for joining me on the journey to the future. May you consider your past today and give thanks for that which has made you strong and view your old struggles in a different light. Take its power away today, by creating a different past that leads to a different future. May you day be filled with abundance.