New Life

I like to share an email I received from a very good friend of mine a few days ago. G and I were flatmates in what feels like a life time ago. He lives in Canada now and we have been in touch since he left Singapore for home.

This was what he said: "All memory is made of narrative..... so our memories are stories, not events, fluid, ever-changing... dynamic. I dig this. But there is also an urge to fix, the butterfly wings under pins, to fossilize, and it must be this process that often confronts me (with a smile) when I find you online, almost a new incarnation, a new story, a new history. This was my first thought about the from addict to counsellor thing...."

I found G's words powerful because of the truth behind the words - that our memories are stories. I am pretty certain that many of you struggling with any form of addictions have your stories to share, and that with every victory you come closer to a 'new incarnation, a new story, a new history'. Sometimes when people share stories about what I used to do, I struggle a little trying to remember because it really does feel like a lifetime ago. (The alcohol must have done a good job of killing a lot of my brain cells! lol!) I feel blessed to be living a completely new life and to feel so liberated. The memories of the past may seem distant but I can easily recall the feelings/emotions from the past and I am glad to say I do not feel the same now.

Oddly enough, my past life as an addict has been a blessing in many ways for without it I would not walk on the path I am on now. For this reason, I often tell my clients, the past has no hold on you unless you give it the power. You have the ability to create a new future, a new life starting from scratch because it is within our innate ability to do so. It is in our nature if we observe how nature works. Every day is a day of renewal, with each sunrise it is a new beginning. Even with each inbreath we are renewing ourselves physically. So no past is too dark or bleak that has the power to hold us back simply because we have the ability to renew ourselves even within our breath.

May you begin a new incarnation, and write a new story and a new history every day. (Thank you G for the inspiration for this sharing)

© 2009