Then and Now

These past twelve months have been very meaningful for me and I know for myself that they have helped me to heal, grow and mature. I am a better man today than I was one year ago. Reflecting on where I was just a year ago as a person and where I am now is breathtaking. I am miles from where I want to be at the end of this journey and I am only a portion of the man I want to become, but I am further down that road now and closer to developing into the man I want to be.

Then: I could not sit still.
Now: I understand the importance of stillness.

Then: I couldn’t answer the question honestly.
Now: Yes, I would date myself.

Then: This thing just started.
Now: Everyone that I meet had a life already in progress before I met them.

Then: He must be…
Now: He just must be.

Then: In my community.
Now: In our world.

Then: Maybe I am not.
Now: Yes, I am.

Then: I want to.
Now: I want to be a better man.

In a coffee shop in the Warehouse District of Cleveland while I was still a sophomore in college someone told me something that he surely has forgotten but I never will. His words were “don’t be afraid of the man you are becoming.” Then I was. Now I know I can’t and shouldn’t be.