Don’t Let the Past Punish You

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie

Something everyone has in common is the past. We all have things we look back on, and think about how they have shaped us into the people we are today. We have things that we were proud of in the past, and we have things that we are not proud of. We cannot let those things that we are not proud of influence who we think we are as a person.

I used to let the past define when I reflected on my first-year teaching. That was a rough year for me in general. We have just moved to North Carolina, my kids were really young, and I wasn’t sleeping well, and I was struggling in the classroom. For a while, I let that one year define me as a teacher, and thinking that I could slip back into having a year like my first year. I have to remember; I know more now than I knew when I started teaching. I heard a quote at church that made since of it, “You cannot judge yourself in the past with today’s revelation.” I know way more now than I did back then. Instead of using those mistakes as a way to hold me back, I use those mistakes to help show me what not to do in different situations.

Last July, I was riding my bike around Uptown Charlotte because I wanted to get out before I left town. I originally was planning on going on a longer bike ride, but the air quality from the Canadian Wildfires made me rethink my plans. I decided to keep it short, and just ride to Uptown and back. I stopped at the Green, and then I headed to First Ward Park. While I was heading towards the park, I saw some awesome street art that caught my eye. I rode over and found this alley way completely covered in art. Without this art, this alley would just be another dark space in Charlotte, but Luminous Lane lives up to its name. The art that was added to this alley completely lights it up. It took 42 artists to make this amazing space happen. I took several videos and photos of this space. If you would like to check it out for yourself head over to 100 East 4th Street, Charlotte, North Carolina.