When Today Awakens Yesterday

What if it isn't the canceled plans that hurt?

Someone cancels.

A phone call doesn't come.

A text goes unanswered.

On the surface, it's a moment most people experience.

Sometimes today's events awaken old wounds rather than create new ones.

So why do some of those moments pass by... while others seem to hit us in the chest?

For a long time, I thought the event itself was the problem.

The canceled plans.

The phone that never rang.

The unanswered message.

What I'm beginning to understand is that those moments often awaken something much older.

The event is happening today.

The feelings can belong to yesterday.

Maybe the canceled plans remind us of times we felt forgotten.

Maybe the phone call we didn't receive awakens an old fear that we don't matter.

Maybe someone disagreeing with us stirs a belief that something is wrong with us.

The current event isn't creating the wound.

It's shining a light on one that's already there.

That realization has changed how I look at my reactions.

Instead of asking,

"Why am I so upset about this?"

I try to ask,

"What does this remind my nervous system of?"

That question changes everything.

It moves me away from judging myself for having a big reaction and toward understanding why the reaction makes sense.

The event still matters.

The disappointment is still real.

But sometimes the greatest gift hidden inside those moments is that they show us where healing is still waiting.

🌱

Messy. Bumpy. Possible. - Leigh