Putting the Past Behind You....

Is it REALLY possible to put the past behind us. To wake up and pretend that all the bad things that have come before simply no longer exists?  Is it possible to wipe the slate and move forward never to revisit old wounds or pains left unresolved. Would you even consider such an offer with all the wonderful things in your life? Probably not.

Is it possible that Time truly does heal all wounds, or does it merely put enough distance between us and them to help build an invisible patch of numbness and apathy?

If you address pain, face it, confront it and resolve it then you find closure and moving on becomes natural.  You can find a peace and comfort that allows you moments absent of ache, and those moments begin to span greater and greater distance and time. You gain an understanding that life has a purpose, grander even than our small grasp and understanding, but we have to go with it.

However,  to allow the pretense of second or third or multiples of parties, that wrong was never done, is to pretend that specific pockets in time never existed.  Every choice we make, every action we take has consequences both positive and negative, and life is about facing those consequences. Accepting them and allowing them to teach us and mold us and guide us into who and what we will become. Life is a never ending journey of learning. The day we stop learning, is the day we die.

To make or accept an offer of putting the past behind us and pretending it never happened, never to speak of it again, is to live in denial and to fail at life's basic premise. To Learn.

Does it make me a cold and heartless human being that I may not be willing to gift someone their desire for the past to be put behind us, never to be spoken of again.  It seems the cowards way out to me.  A way not to face ones own choices and the consequences thereof.  My own principles scream against the mockery this makes of our mortal mission to learn and grow, and yet my compassion says just give them this one. I can pretend....but the truth is, the past will always be there even if I don't speak of it. I can forgive, but I will never forget, and trust cannot be earned by someone unwilling to face and accept their choices. 

You can't undo what has already been done. You can't unsay what has already been said. Time can't be reversed, you can't make right what you want to pretend never happened.

The only true way to put the past behind you is to turn your back and walk away or.......... to face it, deal with it, accept and acknowledge it, and then move forward.  Two real choices, that's all there are. Pretending is not on the list.