Some therapists focus on the past; others focus on the present. In group therapy, it can be especially healing to focus on the present — how the authentic interactions among the group members can help transcend and heal old patterns of relating to others that we have learned in the past.
I am thinking about the past in the present for many reasons, including a Facebook post I saw yesterday from a second cousin:
That my maternal grandmother, Etta, was from the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, which is being bombed and besieged by Russian forces in the present, brings this pain even closer to me.
In the present, my heart breaks for the people of Ukraine and for all who love them.
Do you see the past and/or the present in my other images for today?
On National I Want You to be Happy Day, I want you to know that I want you to have all your feelings, no matter what they are. In the past, many of us have squelched, disowned, and judged some of our feelings, which is unhealthy for the present. In the present, I try to notice and acknowledge all my feelings, letting them naturally run through me (like joy does), leaving room for what’s happening in the present.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “The Past.”
I’ve loved Pat Metheny in the past and I love him in the present.
I’m grateful for the past and grateful for you, here and now.
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 