I recently met up with an old friend of mine while traveling. He has six kids and a lot of parenting experience under his belt.  He told me that every time one of his children turns 18, he gives them the following speech:

“You are now an adult. The days of having other people make decisions for you are over.  Starting today, before you is a blank page.  You are solely responsible for what is written on that page.  No one else.  Make sure that you fill that page with good things.”

I love that speech. I wish someone had given me that speech at 18.  Instead, I heard it at 48.

But truthfully, the Blank Page speech doesn’t just apply to 18-year-olds. It applies to each of us, no matter what our age.

Today, before you is the Blank Page. Yes, you may have had disappointments.  Perhaps you had a troubled upbringing.  Or maybe you endured a divorce or the loss of someone close to you.  None of that matters today.  Today, before you is the Blank Page.

I am not ignoring the fact that our past can affect our present. But our past need not control our present.  You are not defined by the job you lost or the marriage that failed.  They are simply events from the past that now are over and done with.  Putting those events on today’s Blank Page makes as much sense as putting your skinned knee from third grade on your Blank Page.

The Blank Page is an exciting concept. From this day forward, we each can write anything that we want on our Blank Page.  As of today, we each can choose to be little kinder and more patient with others (and with ourselves).  We each can choose to pursue that dream that we may have put aside, but that still nags at our hearts every so often.  We can choose to spend our time making our homes and our world a more beautiful place.

But with the Blank Page comes responsibility. If you had crummy parents, a cheating spouse, or other bad breaks in the past, none of that matters now.  Going forward, you are solely responsible for what goes on your Blank Page.  That means that you can’t blame your past or others for what you do (or fail to do) from this point forward.

Today, forget about your history. Those pages of your life have been filled with both joys and sorrows.  If you look back on those pages, you will have some regrets, and some of those “if only” thoughts.  But your past is over and done with.  It cannot be changed.  So, leave your history where it should be – in the past.

Today before you lies the Blank Page. Mark today on a calendar.  Today is the day that you will begin to create on your page a beautiful story, poem or painting.  Visualize what you want your Blank Page to look like 10 years from now.  Then make it happen.  Starting today.

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)

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