“A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth”
- Robert Frost
A while ago, someone queried “Memories - would you let them go, or would you keep them?”
After a rather contemplative walk this evening, I had resolved that I should let go of things that hurt. To me then, this meant memories from the past few years - rather painful and draining ones. I wanted to let go of them all and start anew.
A short while later, I chanced upon photos from happier times that made me smile in a warm and fuzzy way, which made me ponder about the value of my earlier resolve. Good or bad, I thought, each and every one of the people I had met, and situations I had encountered, changed me ever so slightly - and letting go of them felt like letting go of myself. Even if I had come out scarred at times.
It suddenly struck me that memories are not there to let go. There are there for you to keep in the inner recesses of your mind, to be reminded of, and reminisced about, with time and circumstances. Because they teach you something about yourself you had never before paid attention to, or even realized.
Especially the bad memories. Reflecting on rough times, you begin to discern your inner fortitude and courage in overcoming the seemingly impossible setbacks. You begin to understand that things around you exist (to you) because of your own existence, and even if you may think you will die without something, you can build yourself again after losing it. You realize that while you may never get certain things, it does not ever mean that you won’t get other things that would make your life immensely exuberant.
More importantly, you realize how the people and the circumstances around you are intricately linked to your own fragile reality, and how if you are attentive enough, you will always find something to live for. So, you understand your own flaw in thinking of yourself as the center of the universe, forgetting that there are many around you with equally critical dreams and aspirations. Many, whose dreams are bound to yours in more complex ways that you may ever be able to fathom.
And, you forgive yourself. Because you need to move on, and now you know you will be more attentive.
0 whispers:
Post a Comment