“Whenever something negative happens to you, there is a deep lesson concealed within it.” ~Eckhart Tolle

We have all been in this sad and depressive place before, some deeper in than others. We keep revisiting events from last week, last month or last year until it consumes us and we refuse to come out of it and snap back to the present, where our lives actually exist.

When It Rains, It Pours

Losing a loved one, a failed relationship, the loss of a job or a fight with a friend … these things have a way of consuming your every bit of happiness and keeps you stuck in a place where there is nothing but bleakness. People in these situations find a morbid joy in revisiting the past, not going to work, spending their days in bed, binge eating.

It may not seem like an easy path to get out of… but it is more than possible. If you think you are stuck in a place in the past, wake up. You are creator of your life and only YOU. There is a beautiful life and a big world out there with lovely people.

At times of grief we forget to acknowledge people who are with us and are ready to share our sorrows. We simply assume they would not know what we are going through. While they might not be able to feel the intensity of pain you are going through, they are still there with you to support you if you allow them to be with you. This life can bring us lots of pain and sorrow, but it also fills you with good moments. LIFE IS A JOURNEY, every path we chose decides our fate.

Don’t miss out on this amazing life. Here are some strategies to help make you a stronger and happier human being.

Spirituality

Spirituality can come in the form of service to others (remember Eat, Pray and Love?) or service to your inner being. Spirituality is a journey where you find yourself. Don’t confuse it with religion. Join a course in spirituality and you will learn to connect with your inner self through yoga and meditation. You will listen to great speakers who in this day would be called Life hackers. All of this will help you get a more positive perspective of life and you will begin your journey from the past to the present.

Meditation

Meditation has a way of freeing your soul. That’s the best way I can explain it. It takes away all the negative emotions in your body and replaces it with happy and peaceful feelings. Meditating for only 20 minutes a day can de-stress you and give you a better and longer life.

Forgive

We sometimes revisit a scene in the past and live there because we feel it is someone else’s fault, or our own. The best way to free yourself from past hurts is to forgive and let go. Sometimes you need to forgive yourself too. If it has to do with someone who has hurt you in the past, talk to them. Resolve it and it will go away. If it has to do with you, apologize, forgive yourself and make amends. Everyone deserves another chance.

Accept

We are stronger than we think, but that does not mean we fight everything that happens. Some things don’t work out because they are not meant to and because there are better things to come. It is easier to accept things that you cannot change or have no control over with an open heart than to fight it to depression.

The present and the future are two amazing things. Plan for it. It is a shame to lose it all over the past that you cannot change. Move from past to present.