It doesn't matter where you've been - it matters where you are going!

Dwell not on the past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed. 
~ Author unknown ~

I was having a conversation with a friend about this just yesterday.  We were discussing that no matter how hard we may try to lead good, responsible, spiritual lives, we are human and prone to making mistakes.  Sometimes the best way to know what to do is by knowing what not to do.  And the only way to do that is to make mistakes.  And I use the term "mistakes" very loosely. Maybe a better term for mistake is "missing the mark".  


It doesn't matter where you've been - it matters where you are going.  We all go through difficult times in our lives.  And at those particular moments, we make decisions based on a lot of factors.  Have you ever looked back to a particular time in your life and wondered "who was that person?" You probably wouldn't react the same way now and that's a good thing.  It shows that you've grown.  You've learned something from it.  But you had to go through it to get the lesson. 


Our lives, for the most part, are about cause and effect.  If you want a different life, start making different choices.  Everything that is going on in your life right now is the cumulation of previous decisions and choices you've made.  I am talking about the stuff we have control of.  Of course there are going to be situations that we can't control.  That is different. 


Nothing we go through needs to be wasted.  If you have been through a difficult time and learned from it, you can help someone that is going through a similar experience. When I look back at my darkest times, there was always someone there that had been through a similar experience.  Some of these people are not in my life now. They appeared when I needed them.  And consequently, I have been on the giving end where I've met someone that is going through something I've already been through.  And I've been able to help them. Those moments make it all seem worthwhile.