“We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.” ~ Bergen Evans

So many struggle to put their past behind them, to in effect, just be done with it. Which is a noble cause indeed, yet can we ever really put it out of our minds, and more importantly should we?

Certain things will always trigger memories, no matter how far away we believe those memories to be. They are always there, just below the surface, tickling the edges of our perceptions. They guide our thoughts, our actions, they feed our conscience.

If it weren’t for the past we would keep placing our hands in the fire, and still not understand that it will burn us every time we do. There are many lessons hiding in our past that we no longer consciously think about, but they are always there.

In fact it seems to me those memories only fade when we finally manage to learn the lessons from them that we are supposed to learn. Some of us are more stubborn than others, those lessons then, more difficult to learn.

So then, as for being a whole person, a complete person, does our happiness lie in forgetting the past? Or does the real answer lie in accepting it for what it is? In realizing the past has no power over us today but what we give it?

The past no longer has the power to harm us. No matter how bad it was when it happened, memories are merely ghosts. Ghosts are frightening, but they are shadows of what once was, nothing more.

Yet we can continue learning from the past for the rest of our lives, seeing things in new ways, understanding things we didn’t before, making connections between things we never connected before.

Is the unexamined life worth living? Can you step away from your emotions long enough to see what the past teaches you about your life, and the lives of others? Can you salvage something wonderful from even the worst memories?

Can you live for today, learn from the past, and hope for the future, while still remaining present in the here and now?