Weekly Newsletter: Release

​     It is important to feel all of our emotions, but it is also important to release them, too. Not just the negative ones, but at times we can also hold onto positive emotions long after they have served their purpose. One example of this entails the high school football star who relives his glory days. Or, a beauty queen who relives those moments when the world admired her for her beauty and poise.
     Dwelling in the past prevents us from living fully in the present. The past also taints our future, especially when we make comparisons. Nothing in the past was ever as great or as bad as we remember. It simply was. We can make it a shrine or a prison, or we can simply catalog it and move on without giving it any intrinsic value other than the emotions we felt at the time.
     Fortunately, we have the ability to discard our emotions. This may be difficult for those who have spent years dwelling in the past, or planning for a future based upon the events of the past. The simplest way to begin is to start focusing on the present moment. Not tomorrow, or an hour from now, or even in five minutes. Focus on this second. Grab this moment in time and choose what you will make of it.