your past.

don’t let your past dictate who you are but let it be part of who you will become. ~nick porticullis, from the movie my big fat greek wedding.

we’ve all got a past.
we’ve all been through something.
we’ve all come from something.
and we’re all on a journey somewhere.

i read an article in sports illustrated entitled “escape from jonestown” wondering what in the world jim jones had to do with sports.
but i read on.

it was an article about how jim jones jr had come to accept his past, allowing it to affect his future (along with that of his son, robjones). it was a story of jim jones, jr realizing that what occurred in jonestown those many years ago
did not define him,
did not dictate who he was,
yet did determine who he would become.

jim jones, jr had to forgive his father,
had to forgive himself,
had to accept his family,
had to accept past experiences,
had to realize who he was,
had to realize how his past had shaped him,
had to take responsibility for choices made,
had to take responsibility for how the choices were affecting his family.

jim jones, jr had to allow his son to live his own life,
even if it meant playing the sport he himself loved,
the sport that had saved his own life.
he had to consciously choose not to let his past dictate who he would allow his son to become,
but, instead, let it be part of who he would become.