There was a pause and then he said something to the effect of, ‘I’m not sure anyone will want my aftermath.’

I could relate all too well, and that’s why my response was, ‘we’re all aftermath.’

Been there. Felt that. In fact, I often still feel that. But it’s true what I said in response to him. We ARE all aftermath. We’re the living aftermath of every second prior to the second we’re living in right now and there’s nothing we can do to escape the past. But that doesn’t mean that our past should have power over our future. Instead, our past is motivation for us to strive to become more fully ourselves – the best version of ourselves we can be.

So often people allow their past to haunt them – that used to be me (actually I’m continually working through my past) – I don’t especially care for the person I once was. I also don’t love that I seemed to gain all kinds of baggage from my past. So I buried it. I buried it deep in my heart to be hidden from anyone else. Subconsciously I must have thought, ‘if I bury my past deep enough maybe I’ll forget about it, maybe no one else will see through me, maybe I’ll be able to keep the gross parts of my story hidden.’

This is what the devil wants. The devil wants you to feel isolated and lonely out there on that limb all by yourself. And did I ever feel isolated and unloveable. And it sucked. So, I continue to work through it. AND IT’S WORTH IT. Don’t bury your past. Dig it up. Find a mentor you can trust and process through it. Take yourself out of isolation and discover who you are.

Dealing with the past is often difficult, painful, and unwelcome – not all of it, but definitely parts of it. In order to become the best you that you can be, you have to attempt to know who you once were and why you were the person you once were. What were the thought patterns that drove you to make certain decisions? What outside factors caused you to act in specific ways? What was going on in your heart? When you can understand your old self, then you can be confident in steering the ship of your new self.

As you learn how to work with the compass on the ship of your new self, you also learn to love more deeply and appreciate life around you. And that, my friends, is worth all the digging.

Don’t allow your aftermath to weigh you down. Own it, use it, transform, and flourish.