Give Gratitude for Every Version of Ourselves
We are museums of everything we have ever loved and of what we make of our experiences. We can choose to be collectors of beautiful memories.
Our lessons from every painful moment, heartbreak, and trauma, these we carry with us only as maps for our current and future selves (if we choose to reflect). We cannot love ourselves wholly and fully while hating the experiences that have shaped us. And so we must give gratitude for every version of ourselves.
The quest to reach new levels is a journey we have all felt called to take. Yet, the journey is so different for us all. Refusing to be stagnant or complacent, we become unsatisfied with the present and focus on changing. We see higher versions of ourselves that we know we can become, and so we move. But our calling can only be reached with gratitude in the present for all that is and was. So many times we get wrapped up in where we want to go and the next version of ourselves we want to be that we forget to be grateful for where and who we are right now.
It’s natural to get locked in on the future. Especially when your current environment can bring thoughts of “I can’t wait for this to be over” or “I’m ready to be out of this phase of life and into my next.” In the midst of anxieties about the future, what we fail to realize is that every new level brings new challenges. Even when we are “over” our current situations, there will always be new problems to solve.
The quest to reach the next level will eventually begin to nag us to take the journey again. When your current work environment is no longer meeting your needs and you desperately want a change, it can be easy to forget that you once desperately wanted the job you have. A practice of gratitude keeps us rooted in the present and grounded as we make decisions about our future.
To be grateful for every version of ourselves is to know that we could not be the person we are today or the person we feel called to be in the future without the past versions of ourselves. It can be a form of radical acceptance to reflect on our lives and our experiences without judgment or condemnation.
That version of you did what they needed to do with the knowledge that they had. Be grateful that you moved, learned, forgave, processed, and have grown from your experiences. Make peace with all the versions of yourself and let them be. Time always reveals why things had to happen the way that they occurred in our lives. With understanding and acceptance of past experiences, we can progress beyond feelings of regret, fear, guilt, and shame that keep people stagnant and hating parts of themselves. We can choose to make meaning of our experiences and let them fuel us to move forward.
A safe space for our full selves is created with time and intention. We must create space for peace, acceptance, love, and joy in our current moments. Right in the middle of between where we are and where we want to be.
Gratitude roots us in the present and keeps us grounded. It reminds us to return to the safe space we are working to create each day through our self-care practice. It takes courage to look at ourselves and give thanks for every version of ourselves we have been.
Give gratitude for your experiences and the versions of yourself you have evolved from. You will be able to clearly see how far you have come. You can see the good in where you are right now. And maybe you don’t have as far to go as you think.
So take a deep inhale through your nose. And exhale out through your mouth.
Journal Questions: What do you have to be grateful for today? Make a list. Are you grateful for all the versions of yourself through each phase of life? What have you kept with you that you will also want to bring as you become your future self? Reflect without judgement.
Chare’A Smith is a multi-passionate Wellness Educator, Author, Meditation Instructor, and community servant passionate about helping ambitious people and corporate organizations better integrate wellness into their life and career. Her mission is to help people take good care of themselves and the community so we can thrive instead of survive. Ready to take your self care seriously? Visit www.yeselfcare.com and connect on social media @yeselfcare @charea_taree