Our History Is Not Our Destiny | Five Minute Friday

Our history is not our destiny.

Alan Cohen

And thank God for that, I say.

Our History Is Not Our Destiny

I cannot redeem:
Hours I’ve wasted
Words I wish I hadn’t said
Opportunities missed
Time I spent crying over people who couldn’t or wouldn’t care

I cannot :
Ask the questions I wish I’d asked my parents
Apologize to people who are no longer around
Get back the time and resources spent on people I shouldn’t have

I cannot restore:
My younger days when I should have had more fun
Some lost relationships
Things I’ve spoiled because of neglect
The time I should have spent on self-care.

I cannot rewrite my history:
Undo all the errors of judgement I’ve made
Erase the shame and the self-loathing at bad choices

There’s no going back.
No redeeming or restoring of the past.
I cannot rewrite my history
But I won’t let it be my destiny
I cannot redeem the past
But thanks to Grace, I am redeemed.

Somehow today’s prompt made me recall Mary Oliver’s prose poem ‘Don’t Hesitate’. This is an invitation to live in the moment and not look to the past or the future. It advises us not to hesitate to feel joy!

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

This post was written in response to Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday prompt – Redeem