Beautiful Storms

One day it'll catch up to you.

You know. That mess you made of yourself years ago. If only you could go back and change the way you did everything.

Studied harder in school. You could have made something of yourself. Actually had a career to write home about rather than the part-time gig that basically pays for your weekly coffee habit.

Didn't date that boy. He instilled so many insecurities within you that you felt like you had to settle for someone who abused you.

Treated that one girl nicer because it's your fault now that she's making really bad choices as an adult. She'd probably be on a better path if it weren't for those things you whispered about her behind her back.

Now the storm's approaching and you'll have to pay.

These are the lies that we keep hearing ourselves say over and over in our head. Untruths etched into the lines on our foreheads.

Over and over and over again...

And before you know it, those lies will start to pile up like dirty socks in the laundry basket. And they stink.

And those lies you keep telling yourself? They'll start to wear on you. On your face. In your posture. In the way your feet move about.

Everyone has a past. Every. Single. One.

There is not one exempt person on this planet who does not have regrets or hasn't made mistakes.

There is one difference, though.

It's when you decide that you will take control of your thoughts. There's really only one voice that belongs in your head.

Of your thoughts. Of your facial expressions. Of your posture.

And in how you move your feet. One foot right after the other.

You move forward, and you move on.

That doesn't mean that the past doesn't exist. It's there so we don't keep repeating the same mistakes over again.

Over and over and over...

Your performance in school so many years ago may have had an impact on what career you choose to take today, but that does not mean that your "job" is in any way irrelevant. You are there for a reason. There is a person out there, either tomorrow, or next month or year, who needs you to be in your position at the right time in their life. That smile or "thank you" that you give to them may be the only positive, human gestures they have received in a very long time.

That boy you dated who made you feel ugly? Feel used? Mistreated? He was wrong. He was ignorant. It wasn't your fault. If anything at all could possibly come out of that experience that would be remotely positive, it is this: You are a better person. A stronger person. One who deserves so much better for yourself. It's alright to take time away and find yourself once again. There is nothing worthless about you.

You are beautiful. You are lovely. You are amazing - and you are strong.

The girl who still haunts your memories...she is continually working on finding who she is and where her real worth and value lie. And if you have contact with her or the resources to reach out to her - there is no better time than the present. A kind smile and a coffee date may be her open door. It may give her the strength to walk through it.

So if you feel that a storm is coming, that "karma" is on your tail...it's not.

It's a lie.

So quell the voice that binds and lies to you.

You are beautiful. You are lovely. You are amazing - and you are strong.

And you can take your thoughts captive.