Struggling to put right what once went wrong.
Do you remember the television show ‘Quantum Leap’? Dr. Samuel Beckett was leaping through time, each show taking him into a new body, a new situation, and a new wrong to put right.
He had no control over the next leap, no idea where he would end up, and only the vague hope that the next leap would be the one to take him home.
And so he did his best to make things better, even though it would not help him personally.
Oh I wish we could do that. Go back in time, and change events so that terrible things had not happened. How many lives could you save, how much heartache could be avoided?
How many tears would go unspent if we could only make a few small changes? What kind of a world could we live in if we were in control of time, rather than being its prisoner.
Because make no mistake, although our time is a precious gift, it is also our jailer, trapping us in an ever present now, unable to change the past, and only vaguely able to affect the future.
But the ability to change the future may be the greatest power that we possess.
Of all the ways that we can shape our destiny, a few come to mind as the most powerful. I have written before about our ability to let go, if only we can have a heart big enough.
Another is our ability to forgive, releasing both ourselves and our transgressor from a lifetime spent in bondage to the past, never truly free to experience the glory of the now or the next.
But there is one still more powerful, that can change destinies in a heartbeat, and convert fear into power in a moment.
All it takes is one true decision. Born in determination, baptized with action and sealed with commitment. One decision can change your world. Maybe it’s the decision to become the strongest person you can be, or to lose the weight that has plagued you for years, or to finish that course of study that will lead to a life spent in pursuit of a dream.
Maybe it’s to stand up to adversity, and face it head on with every ounce of power you possess. It could be the decision to end a toxic relationship, or to start a new one full of hope, promise and dreams. It might even be to face down someone who has wronged you, and demand what you feel is your due.
There are so many possible decisions in front of us, that we often fall prey to ‘analysis paralysis’, failing to choose a direction because of a plethora of options.
Wherever your decision leads you, may you find joy both in the journey and the outcome.
For the greatest lives are those lived in the pursuit of dreams, not hidden away in the darkness of fear. It is true that we cannot change yesterday, and we struggle to live in today.
But I promise you, tomorrow is there in shining resplendent glory, waiting for you to reach out your hand and grasp it firmly.
Your future is yours. Go get it.
You’ll be so glad you did.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings