To be upset, and hold a grudge, or harbor a regret about something that occurred in out lives 10, 20, 30, or ever two minutes ago is an absolutely pointless waste of time and valuable energy.
We are who we are, plain and simple, because of all of the things that we have done, the choices we have made and not made, and the experiences that we have had throughout our lives!
I smoked a joint when I was 15, ok, so what? Yes, that decision led me down a different path than I might have ended up on had I not had made that choice, but had I not, I would most certainly not be me.
Yes, I had ADHD and was asked to leave my primary school in the 7th grade, and attend a “special” school for three years to fill in the gaps in my learning.
Again, so what, a. nobody cares, b. would never know if I didn’t tell them, and c. it worked! That experience DID repair my educational deficiencies, allowing me to go on and graduate high school with my class, and then move on to both attend and graduate college as well!
Would I be ANYTHING like the person I am today, without that experience?
I hardly think so.
Yes, I made many, many very poorly thought out and stupid decisions in my life, and I made some very good ones as well.
Still ALL of these decisions, good and bad coalesced into making me the unique and extremely well rounded person that I am today, with the unique abilities that I currently have to help others through insight into myself.
I was a Buddhist for 6 months in college, a Christian for a week, and an Orthodox Jew, with a huge brown beard, side locks on my head, and a completely black and white wardrobe for around a year and a half!
But do I still hold to any of these philosophies?
Yes, and no, and somewhat.
The point is that I am utterly the sum of every experience that I have ever had in my life, every decision that I have ever made, every concept I have ever learned, and every lesson forgotten.
We choose to be who we are today, yes, certainly.
But that choice is not made out of some void of ignorance or lack of perception.
We are who we are, because we have been who we have been, and you know what, that is what makes each of us a unique human being each with our own set of unique gifts to offer the world!
Enjoy who you have become, and are becoming. Enjoy Life!
Sincerely,
Mordechai