Today is my birthday-not just another birthday, but a milestone birthday…my 40th birthday. I have spent the 365 days since my last birthday anticipating this day and thinking about my life thus far…where I have been, where I want to go…where I am now.
And here’s what I have realized over the past 365 days of self-reflection…I have realized that every birthday brings with it, another year of life’s lessons. I have realized that birthdays, like the start of a new year, can symbolize new beginnings…and that birthdays can also be moments of personal closure that release us from the past…both of which lead to the discovery of our authentic selves.
The past 365 days have been a series of new beginnings for me…the past 365 days have also been a series of moments of personal closure for me…closure on 40 years of resentments, sadness, anger, blame…forgiving and letting go…releasing me from the bonds of the past that have prevented me from living in the present.
It hasn’t been easy…it’s actually been a painful and sometimes very difficult process…a process that I have actively avoided for most of my life.
Because the process of forgiving and letting go requires that you change your old ways of thinking, being and acting so you can begin to think, be and act in the ways that will support your authentic self rather than who you have been in the past. The process of forgiving and letting go requires that you send and radiate love to everyone who has hurt you or harmed you or embarrassed you or abandoned you.
Forgiveness is an act that takes place in your own mind as it really has nothing to do with the other person. Forgiveness is an act of love for yourself because when you forgive, you leave the past where it belongs–in the past. And you allow yourself to live in the present.
And that…is the greatest gift you can give…to you. Happy Birthday.
That’s your Rx for today. Be well.
-Dr. Avanti
Your Daily Rx 