This quote is one of my favourites. I often read it or write it down to remind myself to let go of the past so that I can continue to move forward.

I look at this quote as a beautifully kind way of stating the obvious. This quote is like that special person in your life that tells you what you need to hear and not what you would prefer to hear. I love that person.

Deep down, I knew how unhappy I was and that I desperately wanted to make a change. For the longest time I tried to motivate myself by reading similar quotes. Perhaps I wasn’t ready to learn from their advice. I was too afraid to stumble and the thought of making things worse put my life on hold. I wish I could have realised sooner that a change would make things better. Ultimately I knew the years were passing me by and it broke my heart that I was not moving forward or getting better.

For me recovery was never about acceptance. I felt ashamed and lost in my illness. I kept holding on to the idea that if I could just find my way back to the girl I was when I was 15, I would be able to use her strength to get through it.

But then I realised that, that version of me was perfectly happy where she was. I finally understood my future could never begin by traveling backwards to use the strength of that girl. I realized the 27 year old woman that I had been growing into, who I didn’t feel yet connected to…well, maybe she was the person that I had to start trusting and believing in.

“You cannot start the next chapter of you life if you keep re-reading the last one.” – Michael McMillan

I read this quote again and for the first time I felt ready to look only at what was ahead of me and how I could build a path to get there. Letting go of my struggles in the past I felt like I could finally breathe and learn to live again.

I’ve stopped looking back and my past no longer weighs me down. It is my armour that I am proud to wear. It is light as a feather and it gives me the strength and motivation to continue to continue to move forward.

My hope is that this quote and how it inspired me could possibly help someone else to make a positive change.

— Cat —