"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past, and fear of the future." This is a quote by Fulton Oursler. What a powerful quote! After reading it, I just had to look him up to see if I could get a handle on how he came up with such an insightful quote. It turns out Fulton was a very interesting character. He was a writer in the twenties and thirties and was an editor for a number of magazines including Reader's Digest. In 1935, he took his family on a tour of the Middle East and when he came back, he became a Catholic. He had been an agnostic and had raised his family as such. Over the next fifteen years, they all converted, His greatest claim to fame is that he wrote the book "The Greatest Story Ever Told", I wonder what he experienced in the Middle East that made him convert?
Regardless of why he converted, his quote above has both a religious context as well as a humanistic one as well. The crucifixion between two thieves naturally brings up thoughts about Jesus dying on the cross. He was nailed up between two thieves who were also being crucified. Still the thieves and crucifixion are allegories for regrets and fears stealing from the present. While the past and the present both have a place in our lives, too many of us allow them to rule our present. The past has already happened, and there is no changing it. We can learn from it, however. In my past, I know I have made mistakes. Instead of wallowing in regret, I try to instead learn to not make the same mistakes. Some times, when I am alone, my regrets can overwhelm me. Not because of the impact my actions had on me, but for the impact my actions had on others. I have learned from my mistakes though, and I have apologized where I could. In some instances, I no longer have the opportunity to apologize for my mistakes. These are the ones that bother me when I am alone. Still, I try not to let them freeze me into bad decisions. Fear about the future is the other thief that can freeze us into inaction. Thankfully, I am not plagued by this thief. I look to the future with a sense of optimism. I like to try new things and to plan and start projects. A lack of time is more of a thief to me than fear of the future. No fear is a motto I try to live by. That doesn't mean I go out of my way to do stupid or dangerous things...No, it means that I am open to trying rational things that I may have never tried before. Or rational things that I have tried before but may have failed at. Failing at something does not make me feel like a failure. Instead, it makes me want to try harder to figure out where I made my mistake so that I can correct it. Unlike the thieves who were crucified with Jesus, regret about the past and fear of the future are more like the thieves that want to crucify YOU. Don't let them do it. Life is too short to get hung up about the past, and too beautiful to be afraid of the future. If you truly want to do something in your life, then make a plan and go out and do it! Don't limit yourself though! Don't make your focus so narrow that the odds of failing are greater. Instead of saying I want to marry so and so, instead say, "I want to marry someone who will love me as I love them and will make me happy." Pursue love. Pursue happiness. Make a plan to achieve them...no matter what those goals are. Don't be hung on a cross because of what you can no longer change. And don't be afraid to reach for the future that you want. That is the best advice I can think of for my daughters right now.
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