Naala Inc.

Greetings and thanks for dropping by!

I’ve been watching Oprah’s Lifeclass Season 1 over and over again ~ I have all the episodes PVR’d and today, Episode 12 ~ Holding on to the Past” spoke to me.

Life is about experience, life experience. Life experiences vary and we all go through things that change us, scar us, break us, etc. It is so easy to hold on to these experiences and so incredibly difficult to let go. As we mature and experience life, we have to consciously struggle with our former self so that we continue to evolve and grow. The past two years have definitely been growing and maturing years for me,  I’ve contemplated and struggled with defining who I am and what I value most and I finally feel like I am getting to a point where I am BEGINNING to understand who I am, what I want and what I need to do.

Here’s a few things that moved me …

You can’t hold onto RESENTMENT because to RESENT is to feel it over and over again. It means you’re forcing yourself to live the disappointment and pain over and over and over. FORGIVENESS is so important, not because it benefits the person that has done you wrong but because it provides you with the inner peace you need to be happy.

In regards to betrayal of trusts in relationships, unless the other person completely understands and shows remorse it is really hard to get over the betrayal and move the relationship forward. If the person that has been hurt feels as if the other person is not understanding the pain they have caused or truly remorseful, then they will hold onto the resentment and it will show up in every aspect of their life.

“You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people. But until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in the past, the memories, and make peace with them.” Iyanla Vanzant

“Holding onto the past … becomes a barrier from being all that you can be and having the vibrancy, aliveness and glory that your life should be” Oprah Winfrey

QUESTIONS FROM OPRAH’S WORKBOOK 

• What pain are you carrying from long ago that is holding you back today?
• Where are you insisting that something shouldn’t have happened, when it did?
• Try something radical: list three reasons why it’s good that this thing occurred.
• Are you upset about a situation that only exists in your thoughts? If so, how could changing your thoughts change the situation?
• How does “letting go” look to you? What are the steps for accomplishing it?
• List the benefits you get from focusing on anger and blame toward someone else. For example, “I don’t have to face my loneliness,” or “I get to feel righteous.
• Write a letter to someone you’re angry at. Then cross out the person’s name, substitute your own, and re-read the letter.
• Where might you make the changes you want from your enemy?
• Where are you trying to get ideal behavior from someone who’s just not ideal? Can you forgive yourself for wanting them to be something they’re not?
• Would you be glad if your painful past helped you heal someone else who’s hurting the way you were hurt?
• How can you use your painful past to do good?
• If a random spark erased just the part of your memory that stores your worst pain from the past, who would you be, and what would you do?

You know … when Oprah finished her last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, I didn’t think that what came next would be as empowering, inspirational and life changing as Oprah’s Lifeclass. Each life class is so poignant and beneficial – so very deep and powerful!

Thank you Oprah! You are helping so many people live their best lives and become all that they were meant to be. I am now one step closer to letting go of the past (still gotta put in some work – reflect and write in my journal). But, it’s refreshing when you know you’re on your way. Sawubona (Zulu for “We see you”)