Hindsight 2020

I look at my life and I realize that to others, my problems may seem small or even insignificant. To others, they ARE small and insignificant, but to me, they were dragging me down into depression. Once I came to the decision there is nothing more important than to at least try to be happy, my perspective changed. Notice I say it was my perspective that changed, NOT my problems. For example, I personally don't participate in retail therapy. But, just as damaging and perhaps worse so, my preferred method of relaxation after a hard day is a glass of whiskey. When I remind myself to focus on happiness (change my perspective) or what's good about my life, I don't “need” a glass of whiskey to help me forget about my problems. We are each the star of our own reality show. That means we get to choose the supporting cast. It's quite empowering when you discover adversity makes you stand up straight, throw the “deuces", and say, “No one is taking advantage of me ever again.” It can be scary to make that proclamation because the universe will then present you with opportunities to reaffirm this decision until you are 100% committed to you. There will be instances in the future, where someone will try to take advantage of you, and you can choose to let it happen, or you can choose to remain true to yourself. You will realize the people who then exit your life because you stood up for yourself, were only there to be a tool for you. A tool to realize who is in control of your life. After all, you are the only one whom you can 100% depend on. Listen to your heart of hearts. What does it tell you? I guarantee if you sit quietly and really listen, really go within yourself and honor the part of you that has been like Atlas holding up the world, you will hear nothing but truth. The healing of humanity begins with a single human being. None of us is born knowing hate, but we live and grow in an environment that allows it to flourish. It is up to each of us individually to choose peace. Many think the opposite of hate is love, but it's not. The opposite of hate is peace. When we are at peace, love naturally flows. Our differences are what make our world interesting. It is hard for me to understand why anyone would choose to think less of another human simply because they look different. On the one hand, I like to believe each of us is doing the best we can. On the other, though, is evidence that the best is pretty darn poor when it results in some of us murdering each other, raping women and children, kidnapping and molesting children, human trafficking, lying, gaslighting, projecting and abusing each other in any way we can conceive. Is this really “our best"? How can any of these people ever have experienced love if this is how they behave now? That is truly sad. Our world has contracted significant “heart disease” these last many years. While many people are focused on global warming, the more important issue is global hating. It is up to us to stop hating others. And that starts with each one of us individually, every day. Choose to love yourself. Choose to propagate peace. Then go out and share your love and peace with others. If each of us truly makes that choice, the energy will ripple in the collective consciousness of the world and intensify exponentially. I have shared my darkest stories with you because it's important to show you where I've been, as well as who I've been. Where I came from, who I was, and the decisions I made in the past are important to who I am now. They say people can't or don't change, but I am living evidence that we do. But I wanted to. I knew I was a product of my environment, and I took the steps necessary to change the environment and become a better Keri. I've learned the hard way what not to do. All learning comes through experience; the decision you must make is whether you will learn through your own or through someone else's. Neither of these is wrong! Both will be beneficial. One won't hurt as badly – but then, the lessons learned the best are the ones that hurt the most.