The Past has Past so let it remain in the Past

Well today has been somewhat uneventful so I find my mind wondering to the past. I have found that spending some time in thought of the past can be healthy; lessons learned, obstacles overcome, fears conquered, and whatnot. It's when we dwell on the past and try to rethink every scenario and what if in our past or certain event in our past that it becomes counterproductive to us in the here and now. I think we all have beaten ourselves up over thinking about something in our past too much, I know I have struggled with it a lot in the last year of my life. If I would have done this or that or been more like I used to be or loved her more then she wouldn't have felt the way she did. Or if I was paying more attention than I would have noticed her changing. If I would have left with her when she was tired of being out of town. If I never would have took that first job out of town in the first place, never put my families financial needs above their emotional needs, she wouldn't have experienced that hurt, that abandonment. If she would have just told me how she felt. But would I have been smart enough at the time to listen or try to convince her that it was all OK. (maybe she did and maybe I did). The point I guess that I'm trying to make is that Today is too short to relive every event in the past. You can not change what has happened, only how you live today and the choices that you make today. True, remembering the past keeps you from making the same mistakes again, but dwelling on the past is akin to putting blinders on. You stay so focused on the past (and the pain of the past) and can't see the great things in front of you, and can quite possibly make choices that are based on your perception of the past. I know here in my recent past (a few months ago) I made a choice, driven by my perception of my present being distorted by my thought of my past. What I have done as well as what has been done to me can not be undone, but I can change the way I let the past cloud my decisions, my happiness, and the reality of my present. So be careful getting lost in YESTERDAY. Live TODAY. And as for TOMORROW.........."tomorrow will worry for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own" (Matthew 6:34)