THE PAST IMPACTS THE PRESENT

A few years ago, I heard my friend Chuck Swindoll tell the story of Chippie the parakeet. He said the bird’s problem began when the woman who owned him decided to clean up the seeds and loose feathers from the bottom of his cage using a vacuum. When the phone rang, the owner turned to pick it up, and – you guessed it – with a thud and a whoosh, Chippie was gone.

The owner quickly turned off the vacuum and unzipped the bag. There was Chippie. He was stunned but breathing.

Seeing that he was covered with black dust, his owner rushed Chippie to the bathtub, where she turned on the faucet full blast and held the bird under the icy water.

At that point she realized that she’d done even more damage, and she quickly cranked up her blow dryer and gave the wet, shivering little parakeet a blast. Chuck finished the story by saying, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore…”

People who are unable to overcome the past are a little like Chippie. They allow their negative experiences to color the way they live.

It may sound as if I’m making light of what may have happened to you in the past. I’m not. I know that people suffer genuine tragedies in this imperfect world. They lose children, spouses, parents and friends – sometimes under horrible circumstances. People contract cancer, multiple sclerosis, infectious and other debilitating diseases. They suffer unspeakable abuses at the hands of others. But tragedies don’t have to stop a person from possessing a positive outlook, being productive, and living life to the fullest. No matter how dark a person’s past is, it need not color his present permanently.

In what way is your past coloring your present?

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.