Looking Backwards

I would like to start this post with Merriam-Webster’s definition of backward.

Definition of backward
1
a :toward the back or rear, She glanced backward over her shoulder.
b :with the back foremost, Take three steps backward.
2
a :in a reverse or contrary direction or way, Count backward from 10.
b :toward the past, a journey backward in time
c :toward a worse state, His new job felt like a step backward.

I recently was reading for a dear woman and the Seven of Swords came up in the reading. This card, just like all cards in the Tarot, has many different interpretations and many different cards combinations and placements in a spread. This particular day the Seven of Swords took on a different meaning for me than the normal. As you can see, the man in the card is looking backward. Instead of my normal thoughts on this, I was drawn to the fact that he was “looking back”, looking back at his life, over his shoulder. Looking back and remembering not the good, but holding onto the hurt and the pain of the past. This day the message to my client was, leave those things that bring you pain in the past, leave them and move forward with out them. See how the man in the card has left two swords behind him?

Depending on how we look back, and the thoughts and feelings this brings out for each of us, will determine if this is a practice that benefits our forward progress. I generally feel that reflecting on our past is a good thing. A bit of self analyzing is good for all of us, especially if we are acknowledging our Life Lessons, our own personal growth, and honoring all that we are today. Looking backwards, however, may be a practice that does not serve our highest good. If we are looking back on what is “lost”, on what we no longer have, on the hurts that we incurred along the way and not acknowledging the growth and the positive effects of these things, if we are only re-experiencing the pain, anguish, and regret, then this practice definitely is not serving us in the positive.

Today, join me in taking a minute to meditate on your past. Take some time and write down  what you see when you look backwards. Are there any lingering feelings of pain, regret, hurt? Instead of allowing these things to be a weight you carry with you today and into your future, lets try taking these feelings and experiencing them in a more positive light. Take the pain and turn it into personal growth. Take the regret and turn it into a life lesson and take the hurt and honor how it helped you to become a better person today. Let looking backwards be just a glance over your shoulder, not three steps backwards into a painful past.

Blessing to you today!

Blessings,