If you had a blank white wall right in front of you, how would you decorate it? What would you put on it? Would it be decorated with memories throughout the years or would you turn it into your very own vision board? Would you write a quote that got you through one of your most difficult times? I guess my real question is, would you include to display the things that may not bring the happiest smile to your face? Perhaps a photograph of a time where you felt at your lowest.

“Kat, why would we want to decorate our wall with harsh memories and old wounds?” There are many things that should be kept in the past… even forgotten. The thing is though, the past existed. The past can’t be erased. We could long for a do-over and wish it never happened, but it’s as real as the words your reading right now.

Within the mosaic of everything that’s beautiful in your life now, paint the words that gave you some kind of hope to hang on to when there was none. Hang up the picture that tells a story some may never understand. Display the person you were back then before you realized that was never who you were meant to become. Who you were in the past was only someone that needed to be a part of your journey.

Don’t sacrifice the story of what you conquered

Do you know how brave you are to have gotten to the here and now? Look at your wall. Look at it as a whole. Do you think you got to the beauty of it all by just the beauty alone? By pretending the past isn’t real? The beauty is there because of your strength to overcome adversity. It wasn’t just handed to you. It was one you created, one you deserve.

I know how easy it is to just want to focus on the present and really, that’s how it should be… but to not acknowledge the battles I’ve faced, the ones I’ve won and the hardest I’ve fought diminishes my value as a human being. I’m not perfect nor did I have a fairy godmother grant me all my hearts desires. She didn’t place me where I am today. She didn’t fight my battles for me. I did, not to mention it diminishes the value of those I came across who helped me in some sort of way.

I mentioned once that you shouldn’t discard the small pieces that create the big picture. Depending on the events of our past, they can be monumental or trivial, but they still make up the bigger picture. The past is still a part of our story now. It always will be. Don’t flood your canvas with the wounds of what once was but don’t sacrifice the story of what you conquered either. It deserves to be told.