THE PAST IS PASSED

The wise among us seem to constantly remind us that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I suspect that even the foolish among us would have to nod heads in agreement. However, even a cursory review of history seems to indicate that there are more fools in this world than there are the wise. In fact, each and every one of us is a fool at times because at times we all ignore history and make fools of ourselves.

Given that truth, one that certainly cannot be denied if we are each and all are honest with ourselves, the cynic in me wonders why we even study history in the first place. We either believe that history is wrong or that we are going to be the exceptions to the rule, neither of which is correct we sadly and often painfully discover after we have gone against the truth that was out there waiting for us to accept it on face value.

None of this is to say that history does not have so very much to teach us or that we always and everywhere ignore those historical lessons. The blessing in all of this is that we really do learn from history, from our past mistakes, and become less prone to being foolish the next time around. The bane is that there seems to be something in us that wants to see for ourselves if history is truly right. So we touch the hot pan that we were told not to touch because we would get burned, got burned, and wondered why we were so foolish to not listen to the wise voice that told us what would happen.

The corollary in our failure to learn from the past is that we so often want to live in the past. The past is passed and it will never come back. The good old days were never as good as we remember. But even if they were the best of times, those times have passed. We cannot resurrect them no matter how much we desire or how hard we try. They are passed and all we can do is keep them in fond memory.

On the other hand, if the past has little or no fond memories to hold on to but only misery and pain, we should not allow ourselves to believe that the present and the future will simply be more of the same. It will be if we do not let go of the past and grab on to the present, knowing and believing that the past does not have to be repeated and that the future can be bright and good and wonderful. But first we have to let the past pass.

That can be easier said than done, of course, especially if the past has so many bad memories, was filled with far too much pain and suffering of whatever kind that took: physical, mental, spiritual, whatever. If that was the case, it becomes difficult to move on because one tends to blame the self for the past’s bad times. We begin to believe that we must have done something to deserve all that pain and suffering. But even if we did, that is no reason to believe the present will be more of the same.

History has proven that no matter how bad the past was, resurrection and new life is always possible. It may take time and it will be not without some difficult times and trying days. But unless we allow the past to be passed, unless we leave it behind and move on with our lives, we will never be able to find resurrection and new life. But if we do, the future will be better than anything we experienced in the past.