Last update: June 16, 2016
In this world, there are two types of people: those who put their books in order from highest to lowest and those who do not, those who need 10 alarms to get up in the morning and those who are already active on the first ring. And why not, the people who keep looking over their shoulders to contemplate their past and those who rely on the idea of ​​"carpe diem".
However, just as Aristotle preached, virtue is likely to be somewhere between the two extremes: as we will see in today's article, the story of our past deserves to be remembered, however negative it may have been; however, it is necessary to know how to enjoy today even if in a rational way, with an eye towards the future.
Don't let the past bind you
If you too are struggling to live in the here and now due to a past that imprisons you, perhaps it is best to start looking for a way to free yourself from it. Undoubtedly, those who have suffered the severe damage of their past will find it hard to recover from the blows and to start again with courage to look forward.
In this sense, each of us has a different story behind us and is therefore the only one who can judge the difficulties he has experienced - sometimes the worst period of a person's life is perceived by others as easily overcome and vice versa. We all went through a phase of total block, in which we were paralyzed in the face of situations that we believed were going beyond the limits of our endurance, yet we managed to overcome them. Well, you too can do it.
“The past is only useful when it can teach us something about the present. It's the present that counts. "
-Elizabeth Kostova-
Other times, it is not the negative events of the past that drag us to the bottom, but the opposite happens: after having lived extremely positive months and moments, we find it hard to believe that there could be anything better in life. Yet we are the only ones who can take the reins of our life and build, day after day, moments that can make us happy in the present.
The present is a new opportunity
The present is our chance. The will to get up every day, to wear a new pair of shoes and face the day in a different way, resides within us. Only in this way will the present turn into an opportunity to lock up the past in a place far away from us, opening the doors to new experiences.
The present is the ideal opportunity to meet new people who enrich us as people and bring the vitality and energy we need into our lives. We must stop rummaging in a past that was our ideal, but which is no longer, it is about taking the opportunity to conclude some painful chapters and start writing new ones.
"If we are not co-responsible for our past, we will have no right to consider ourselves the legitimate owners of our future."
-Fernando Savater-
Time heals the wounds of the past, pushes us to forgive things we didn't think we could forgive, forces us to face the pain of a farewell, shows us the value of the most fleeting moments of happiness, but above all, time inexorably teaches us to project our gaze towards today and tomorrow.
Changing things doesn't mean saying goodbye to the past
When we talk about "letting go" of the past, we don't mean that it should be forgotten. It represents our history and it is right to remember it, relying, however, on it only when it can bring something positive to our present.
"The past is what you remember, what you think you remember, what you convince yourself to remember or what you want to remember."
-Harold Pinter-
It is important to understand that the past must not take too much time away from your today, because everything has its own time and space. Otherwise, you will end up obscuring the future with the shadows of the past: never forget what you have learned from your previous steps, but don't allow your feet to stop walking.
The present has an inestimable value since it is made up of stages yet to be written and it is up to you to do it: in order not to live empty days, make sure that they are built together with you. Be what you really want to be and accept what you have been in the past, but that no longer belongs to you. Here lies the key: in understanding that we are no longer the same, that even if we have a past behind us, in front of us there is a present that is waiting for us.
