you are not your past

Hello darlings! How was last week and the weekend especially? I had such an awesome weekend. Anyway, I'm going to be posting an article and a beautiful piece written by a not so okay child (i kid) which is part of the 'i want you to know, i don't want you to know' series.

How has your day been so far? I know right, we hate Mondays but, we will still have a good day right?! Okay, enjoy and don't forget to share.

shout out to my talented friend, Highfee Noni. CONGRATULATIONS SWEETHEART. Yayyy! you are done with school. Very soon, I will come for your wedding; mo de ma je rice to po. I am so happy for you.

“WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES, HAVE STRUGGLES, AND EVEN REGRET THINGS IN OUR PAST. BUT YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES, YOU ARE NOT YOUR STRUGGLES, AND YOU ARE HERE NOW WITH THE POWER TO SHAPE YOUR DAY AND YOUR FUTURE” ~ STEVE MARABOLI

On Sunday, the 11^th of May, 2014, I watched a movie tittled ‘have a little faith’ and a lone tear slipped from my eye. I highly recommend the movie and you don’t even have to be a Christian for you to watch it or be inspired by it. After watching the movie, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to God. I asked him with pain in my heart to please let me live a life that will inspire others. I want to be a shining light for him and live in such a way that people will be blessed even after I am gone.  There was a short sermon by a pastor in the movie whose story greatly inspired me and it’s that sermon that is inspiring this post. The statement he made that got to me was ‘YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAST’

I once wrote a story about a man who had an accident. He had injury to his brain and lost his memory. By the way, one of the greatest gifts we have is our memory. Really, without it, I believe we won’t have a past, present and a future. Anyway, prior to the accident, his wife already filed for a divorce. He wasn’t the best husband or father and he abused her physically, cheated on her, neglected his responsibilities amongst other things. She was fed up after years of endurance and unhappiness and so she decided a ‘way out’ was the better option although, she didn’t exactly like the idea of a divorce. After this man’s accident (he basically had to start all over again as what made him, him was gone), he changed and became a better person. Now, she was faced with a dilemma, ‘should she go or should she stay?’ She questioned ‘if people ever really change’ and that was the main point of the story. To ask ‘if people really change’ and I will like to hear your opinion on that. I should post the story sometime. Now, the sermon was basically about the ability of humans to change from who they used to be to someone better. That means the pastor believes people change as there was doubt in the heart of the main character.

                                               I also believe people change

“Mayowa, you do? How can you? That man cheated you yesterday. If you give him another chance, won’t he cheat you worse than yesterday? Wont you be a fool? … bla bla bla”. I want to tell you a story. Lol! I’m starting to really like telling stories.

Donald was a renowned thief. He had a disadvantaged background. His mother was a prostitute and his father, a drug addict and wife beater. His birth was a mistake but his mother did him a favour unknown to him at the time, by not aborting the pregnancy. He grew up without parental love and care and was basically left to fend for himself. He had to survive right? So he took to the streets. Started stealing from the rich as he felt they had enough. He grew up good at only one thing; stealing. He went from street crimes to white collar crimes. He was able to ‘pull off’ venturing into white collar crimes which require intelligence and a lot of intellectual abilities because, he has an in built intelligence. However, the only way he knew how to express that intelligence was by being a criminal. He was found out after duping a rich and influential business man. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. Donald was released early because of his good behavior and co-operation. The rich man was furious … ‘this was a man that took from me. This was a man that made me lose a lot. He hasn’t finished paying for his sins.’ The rich man’s wife looked at her husband with a smile and asked, ‘have you finished paying for your own sins? Didn’t you rape girls when you were younger? Didn’t you steal when you were younger? Do you think you are better than him because you were not caught? Do you still steal or rape girls or do gruesome things? No, you don’t and that’s ‘cause you changed. The decision to change makes you a courageous and better person. You were given a chance at rehabilitation. Why won’t you let him prove himself?’ … The wife welcomed Donald into their home and started training him. She would tell him, ‘the only ways you can atone for those sins are by letting the past be the past and letting a new you emerge’. Donald today is a computer Engineer and is the founder of Change organization that aims at helping people that have lost their way change.

Mayowa will tell you this: stop looking back. Stop thinking about that terrible thing you did. Let go and forgive yourself so you can see the beautiful things you can become and do with your life. Hey! Stop looking at that girl or boy that did horrible things in the past with the same eyes. He has changed, she has changed. She is trying to change, he is trying to change. Why not help? Why not take a minute to look at what s/he can become. If you keep looking at that person like that, you will rob yourself the opportunity to be blessed and inspired by his/her life.

My darlings, this week, think of how you can change because it’s never too late. Think of how you can help that person that is trying to change to be better. Think of how you can live a life that will inspire someone and more importantly, think of how you can lend a hand and give a smile to that person that is not asking for it. NEVER FORGET; YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAST. YOU ARE YOUR PRESENT AND THE FUTURE IS WAITING FOR YOU TO MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU WANT. Gracias my darling!