DAY 82 - THE PAST 82 DAYS, and where this journey has taken me

As I look back on the past 82 days, I see the fabulous journey that I have been able to take. Along the journey I have renewed old friendships, made new friendships, and started some new parts of my life. Part of this journey has been remembering the people and blessings in my past. Part of this journey has been looking for a new job. Part of this journey is dating new people and starting new relationships.

   And as the saying goes, “it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.” I have very much approached this next phase of my life with this viewpoint. I could complain and get depressed about all the things that have happened to me – but that's not who I want to be. I am a happy and positive person, and I want to live a happy and positive life.

   So that is what I choose to do – because it is definitely a choice. I may have been the victim of some very bad choices that others chose to make, but I cannot change the past nor take away their free agency. But that is also all in my past, and although it has shaped my life and contributed to the person I am today – my entire future is still ahead of me.

   For the past 82 days I have reflected on my life and the people, experiences, and lessons that I have learned. And I do think it is good to review the past – for “those that do not learn from the past are destined to repeat it.” And heaven knows I do not want to repeat some of these experiences. I choose to learn from them. And I choose to move on.

   I honestly thought that this 83 days would be about all of the hurt and devastation of this past year. I thought it would be about the wrongs done to me and the cruelty unfairly thrust on me.

   But this Journey didn’t take that route – and I’m glad. Although I don’t regret the choices I made, I have made the choice to learn the lessons that are there for me to learn – and to look for the good in the world and in my life. This Journey has taken me to friends old and new, and recollections of the amazing people that I have been blessed to have in my life.

   I took the time this evening to read back through the past 82 blogposts, I can remember every single step along the way. The touching memories, the joy and laughter, the lessons learned. I have been reflective, and it has brought a richness into my life. I have taken the time to stop and smell the roses, and because I have I feel that my future will be even brighter.

   Because although my life hasn’t turned out anything like the way I planned it, I do have a fabulous life. I am blessed beyond measure, and I am filled with gratitude. And every single step of my past has contributed to the person I am today – and I think that the person I am today is pretty terrific.

   Beyond the 82 blogposts that I have shared, are hundreds more memories that I have recollected – and thousands more to come. And that has been such a joy along this Journey – and a fabulous gift that I bring from my past into my future.

   Tomorrow is the last day of this 83-day Journey, and tomorrow I will look forward. But for tonight I will remember. I will remember the people. I will remember the places. I will remember the experiences. And mostly, I will remember the love. Because love is really what it is all about – our past, our present, and our future. And I am blessed with a life filled with people that love me, and a heart that is overflowing with love.