Upgrowth

U is for Upgrowth

When searching for words that start with U, I found a lot with "Un" at the beginning. Words that mean something didn't happen, or that someone took something back - or wished they could. There was a lot of going backwards. So I chose the word upgrowth. Spellchecker doesn't recognize it, but I like it. It means change. It means growth. It means moving forward.

This Wednesday, I came home and decided that I'm done thinking about the past. I'm done going backwards, and wishing that things could be undone. I've always been one to focus on the past, and it's not healthy. It doesn't bring me joy. So today I went for a walk and tried to focus on now. It felt so good. I went to my favorite clearing on our property, and I stood there in the sunshine and subtle wind and occasional raindrops. It was invigorating.

I've spent far too much of my life going backwards - getting stuck in cycles, making the same mistakes, etc. I've decided that I'm done with that. I'm going to stop reading old journal entries that depress me, and stop thinking about how things could have been different. Because it doesn't do any good to focus on those things. I'm serious. Sometimes we just have to let go and move on.

That's my message for today. Don't focus on the undone, or the mistakes. Focus on the upgrowth. Focus on being better, every day. Focus on now. Because none of us can change the past, but in this very moment, we can change the future. We can change how we feel right now, and how we act right now. We have that agency. We can choose to live better, and to move ahead. And I encourage you to do that. It's an amazing feeling.

Love,
Bonnie Gwyn