Don’t Be Afraid to Look Back

We’re so often told, “Don’t look back.”
“Keep moving forward.”
“Leave the past behind.”

But what if the past is where the treasure is buried?
What if the path forward requires us to retrace our steps — not to relive the pain, but to reclaim the power?

Like the Sankofa bird, we must go back and get it.
We must be willing to turn our heads, stretch our hearts, and gather what was left behind — the forgotten, the hidden, the sacred.

Looking back is not weakness. It is wisdom.
It takes courage to revisit what hurt you. It takes strength to pull lessons from the rubble.
It takes vision to see that the seeds planted in your past — even those sown in tears — might be the very ones growing the harvest you need now.

Sometimes it’s not trauma we find back there, but truth.
A moment that affirmed who we are.
A word someone spoke that still echoes as a reminder of our worth.
A decision we made that showed we were stronger than we knew.

Even in the smallest things — like losing your keys — what’s the first thing we do?
We retrace our steps.
We go back.
And eventually, we find what we lost.

Why would it be any different with our spirit?
With our dreams?
With the parts of ourselves we’ve silenced, or tucked away?

Let’s stop shaming ourselves for looking back.
Let’s stop pretending that healing only happens forward.
Sometimes the path ahead begins by going back.

So go back and get it.
Go back and find your voice.
Go back and uncover your peace.
Go back and gather the wisdom that’s been waiting for you.

The past isn’t a place to get stuck. It’s a place to reclaim.
Because once you’ve found what was lost — you’ll move forward stronger, clearer, and more whole than ever before.