Your past is a gift. Even if it didn’t feel like it at the time, it’s a gift. It’s a gift because it made you who you are today. It’s a gift because it has given you a unique insight into the experiences that you have had. Now that you have the tools, you are able to be a guide for those who are going through what you went through. You are now the tour guide for the mountains that you have conquered.
You need to remind yourself that there is a purpose in the pain. This really helped me to heal from the things in my past. When I fully realized that everything I have been through is preparing my purpose in life. Your past pain becomes other people’s future strength, if you let it. Your past shapes your purpose and your purpose gives you power. For me, I knew that rehab time was my purpose because it makes me feel alive. It lights me up and brings power to my life and when you step into your purpose, you know that you are being called to it.
What are you passionate about solving in the world? When you are hungry, you go to a restaurant because that solves your hunger. Maybe the person that started that restaurant did so because they grew up hungry. Maybe it was their calling because it was their pain first. Maybe you are looking for your passion in life and I would suggest that you start with your past when you are looking. Remember your life. Look back on it like an observer and tell yourself the story that your life has been and what it could be. Look at the pain in your past and ask “why did that hurt so badly?” You might find that it hurts deeply because you felt powerless or out of control. You remember that feeling and it continues to plague you until you find a way to have power over it with purpose. It plagues you until you find a way to be the one in the driver's seat. This is where purpose is born. It’s born in the midst and memory of pain. This is why I say that your past is a gift. It’s a gift to the world when you learn how to wield it.
It’s human nature for us to look to teachers in our lives. We have deeper trust with those teachers when we know that they have walked the walk. We fall into deeper understanding when we know that the guide to the mountain has climbed the mountain before. When the guide knows all the pitfalls and dangers, we listen more keenly. You were born to be the guide. We all were. Listen to your pain. Listen to your purpose and calling.
It all starts with you.
