The thoughts we are held hostage by were handed down to us by parents or educators or friends and other loved ones. They are not written in stone. The fact is, we can free ourselves from the past and from any thought that hasn’t comforted us. When your thoughts no longer fit your reality, change them! You may have to keep working at it, keep challenging your thoughts and ensuring that they’re not holding you hostage to some outdated picture of the world, but the choice is always yours. In every moment, we get to choose. ~ Casey, Karen. Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow . Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.

Are there thoughts that hold you hostage?
Several so hold me.
I’m proud to have legs slender enough to cross
at the knee, but in public, Mother’s echo says
that ladies don’t do that.
I was told I shouldn’t wear tee-shirts
and kowtow to that one as well.
And shorts in public? Can you get by with it
if it’s only a social media picture?
I’m proud the last three years or so
my fingernails have shown white tips
and are no longer stripped to the quick.
There are others, but I’ll quit here.
The fact is, I can free myself
from the past and from any thought
that hasn’t comforted me.
Instead I will devote a few moments
to gratitude for the many blessings
that have become evident in hindsight.
I can look at an image and see
what once was hidden from me
by knowing others see a vase
where I saw silhouettes angrily facing off.
Change the thoughts that bother you
by looking with eyes of love,
not eyes of fear.