Me Kindergarten Class

That would be me on the right, with my lunchbox slung stylishly around in front of me!

 

Meta-Musing
Using the Past to Heal the Present
 
Blessings to You!
 

On December 31st I retired from my job at the bank to focus on the "want-to's" of my life. I developed a "bucket list" of sorts. The list included the church and ministry, learning to juggle, jump Double Dutch, and completion of my project of scanning, categorizing and detailing a lifetime of photos.

 

I started with the photos, as it is too cold to jump rope, and I did not have anything suitable to juggle. While I am finding the task to be daunting, it has also been cathartic. I am experiencing a "photo-synthesis," reconciling the times, places and events of my life. Perhaps you could have this experience also! 

Mimi and Felicia 
John 7:24
 
Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
 
Unity Wisdom
  

All things are in the consciousness and you have to learn to separate the erroneous from the true, darkness from light.

 

Charles Fillmore, Atom Smashing Power of Mind

I looked at each photo for necessary "tweaking." It was like going through a slow-mo life review, preceding my arrival on Planet Earth and moseying along through the decades. I could feel the presence of the people, places and events. Emotions swelled and dropped as each photo was observed.

 

They say that when you die your life flashes before your eyes. In metaphysical circles it is believed that this happens to help us understand what our journey was about and how we handled our assignment. Near Death survivors typically return to life with a new awareness of mistakes made and a purpose for their lives, gleaned from their "life review" experience.

 

It is different when the life review is "self-induced" through photographic reflection. I smile at the happy, carefree times of my youth. My eyes sting with tears viewing the faces of people who have passed on. My heart swells with pride at images of my children and their accomplishments and activities; and then aches from pictures of a smiling bride and groom making doomed vows with blind confidence. Anger flares up from old unhealed wounds, regret stirs in my gut for precious moments lost through faulty choices. I am reassured of good things I have done by smiling faces of love and appreciation. It is a journey, to be sure.

 

The hardest things to deal with in this life review were unresolved anger and regret. I was pondering this during my morning meditation and reflection. As Divine Order would have it, at the very moment my soul cried out "What can I do?," I recalled something I once read called "Shadowy Figures." The writer spoke of a dream of shadows but equally can apply to the shadows of our past experiences. You see, we have options in how to handle shadows of anger and regret. We can:

 

* Deplore it: use attack thoughts to blame whoever we believe is at fault.

* Ignore it: hoping that by not dealing with it, it will go away. Yeah...right!

* Explore it: Try to see the big picture beyond personal opinion; see it through the other person's eyes, weigh it in your heart to see how valid your thoughts and feelings are.

 

To those options, I would like to add:

 

 * Restore it. With the understanding gleaned from our exploration, we have the option to forgive others for real or perceived offenses, or to make amends for intentional or unintentional offenses of our own. In doing so, we will assure that every life review will be happily anticipated.

 * Release it. It is not necessary to hang on to EVERY photo you ever took. We do not need to be eternally reminded of mistakes we have made. Thanks to photo editing we can crop those reminders out of our photos or if all else fails, delete!

 

So, you may want to get out your photo album, and maybe you also will have a healing experience.

 

Eternally, RevAli 

It is our sincerest prayer that you have enjoyed this week's "Meta-Musing." Our messages are, and will always be, provided free of charge. Spirit of Unity and our Meta-Musings are entirely supported by the generous free will support of those who are blessed and inspired to do so.
 
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