“Unwrapping” the Truth

Although your past helped you become who you are today, it can also get confusing.  Looking backward into memories and forward into mystery can tug on your emotions, choices, and perceptions – perceptions that don’t determine who you are today.  In the midst of this push and pull, remember that the past does not define you.  Embrace the present – a fragile, fleeting moment that you may often overlook. Ironically, it is the present you unwrap every second, the gift you forget to appreciate because you’re too busy dwelling in the past or fearing the future.

But here’s the truth – the past is not the present.
And it never will be.

The past has its place – in photographs, in journals, in the whispered stories passed down like heirlooms. It has value, yes. But it’s not currency you can spend today. The heartbreak you endured, the mistakes you made, the people you lost – they’re not here, not now. They’re shadows on the wall, not the light pouring through the window.

And yet, you may cling to those things from the past as if they owe you something. You replay regrets or hurt like broken records, hoping that somehow they will produce new music. The past gives lessons – lessons aren’t meant to be relived, only learned. The past gives memories – some good, some painful – memories that aren’t meant to control your today, but offer guidance on what you can choose to be or do next.

The present, this very moment, is the only place where change happens, healing begins, and joy exists. Unlike the past, the present is a gift. It’s imperfect and unpredictable, wrapped in ordinary paper, but it’s real. It’s the breath you just took. The sunrise you didn’t expect. The stranger who smiled at you. The second chance you thought you’d never get.

To be present is to say,“I will not let what was steal what is.”

Many live like time travelers with no ticket home, trapped in old conversations, rewinding scenes from the worst chapters of life. But you can’t change the plot that’s already been printed. You can only write the next page.

Unwrap your present. Open it with grace. Maybe it’s messy. Maybe it’s not what you expected. But it’s yours.

The past is not the present. Stop treating it like it’s still here. Every moment you spend stuck in the past is a moment of the present left unopened.

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