10/25/2026
This speaks volumes about the human experience. Healing is a gentle thing and unfolds when we are ready.
𝗕𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲
One of the heaviest burdens we carry is judging our past self by the wisdom of our present self.
We look back at old decisions and wonder:
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳?
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨?
But we forget something important.
The person we were then did not have the knowledge, experience, healing, or perspective we have now.
We are asking an earlier version of ourselves to understand a life that only time could teach us.
Growth has a strange way of making our former selves appear foolish.
But perhaps they were not foolish at all.
Perhaps they were simply unfinished.
They were learning.
They were trying.
They were making their way through life with the understanding they had at the time.
Every choice we made, wise or unwise, came from somewhere.
From our hopes and fears.
From our wounds and beliefs.
From what we had experienced.
From what we had not yet learned.
From what we thought love was.
From what we believed we deserved.
We did not always make the right choices.
But we were becoming.
And sometimes becoming requires getting things wrong.
The purpose of the past is not to punish us.
𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝘀.
If we spend our lives revisiting old mistakes with shame, we may miss the wisdom hidden inside them.
Regret can be a valuable teacher.
But it makes a terrible home.
There comes a moment when we must stop asking,
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯?”
and begin asking,
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨?”
Be grateful for the person who stumbled.
Be compassionate toward the person who was hurting.
Forgive the person who did not yet know what you know now.
Be gentle with the person who was simply trying to find their way.
That person carried you here.
Every mistake taught you something.
Every disappointment revealed something.
Every wrong turn gave you another piece of the map.
You do not have to love everything your past self did.
But you can love the person who lived through it.
And perhaps that is a deeper form of healing; not erasing the past, but finally being able to look back without wanting to punish the person you once were.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗻𝗼𝘄.
That is what growing means.
So release the weight of yesterday, but keep its wisdom.
Speak to yourself with the same compassion you so freely offer others.
Forgive yourself for what you did not know.
And when you look back, don't only see the mistakes.
See the courage it took to keep going.
See how much you have learned.
See how far you have come.
Because the person you were is not someone you need to be ashamed of.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸.
They stumbled so you could learn to stand.
They searched so you could discover.
They survived so you could become.
And they brought you, step by imperfect step, to the person you are today.
So be gentle with who you used to be.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻. 🌿🤍
Mitra - 🌎 https://www.facebook.com/ShahidiMitra/
