you can't go back...

photo by blake spencer/doors at bellemeade plantation

there are all kinds of places
you can go back too
especially those places
and people who
give you life.

i've gone back to places
of my childhood
the elementary school
where a pecan tree
planted by my fifth grade
class continues to grow
reminding the world of the
lessons we learned
the day we stood on the
yard and dug a hole and
planted a tiny twig of a tree.

destinations are not only places
but memories too.
i can re-visit numerous
past experiences,
i can.
some of these memories
are automatic sources of
joy and comfort...
others are
reminders of hard lessons learned.

there are many places and
memories i can go back too....
but i've learned
in recent months and
years...
once you've
dealt with reality,
once you spoken truth about your life,
once you overcome
things like
low self-esteem,
defensiveness,
and fear
there is no going back.

there is no going back to the way
you were
before
healing and wholeness
and peace and
wisdom
set in and took root
and begins to grow.

there is
just
is no
going back.