“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
The past does not define us; what does is only what we choose to be.
We are slaves to the past only by our choosing. For it is only by unwillingness do we refuse to let the past remain there.
To enslave one’s self to the past is to relive it within one’s own mind — the past becomes an overbearing and overarching foe, an obstructing veil that colors what we do and how we live.
Worst of all, those with whom we interact, those who cannot see and seldom realize the veil of the past that you choose to wear, suffer the consequences of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and strained relations.
The past serves us with lessons and reminders. The past is a path that has lead us to this moment.
As a hiker does not dwell upon the rocks that caused her to slip, or the creek that demanded from her a leap of faith so that she might cross it, dwelling upon challenges and trials of our pasts serve only to obstruct us from living fully, today.
Allowing the past to define us today adversely affects friendships and relationships because we obligate others to determine, dissect, and understand occurrences and influences of the past that influence our behavior today. To willfully burden a friend, family member or lover with the task of unmasking and fully understand the unseen and increasingly-distant influences of the past is an unfair burden that will surely complicate happiness.
While the past has heavily influenced who we are and who we have become, it does not define, limit, or restrict us and who we choose to be. Our potential — what we allow ourselves to do today, and what we do on behalf of a better tomorrow — is always unlimited.
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The problem I see with this blog entry is that it considers "the past" as an impartial sequence of events that have absolute influence over "us" or "who we are." However, I think this is incorrect as the past in the sense of constituting the individual self is always contextualized by the thought and language of the individual which does just as much to shape how and to what severity these occurrences have on who we are. In short, how we relate to any given event, both at that moment in the past and at this moment in the present considering the past, is just as important as the fact that the event occurred. "Who we are" affirms our relation to those events, even the desire to reject those events.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
I don’t think we can ever clean slate our lives. Everything we are right now sits on the foundation we built in the past. As an example, you can stop smoking but you will forever have that experience of smoking. It will define your opinion and future actions. The past can define us for good or ill, it is our choice of the two that belongs to us in the now.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
Actually, the past does define us. I didn’t choose to be born in New Jersey, have brown hair, be male, &c. This is poppycock.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
"While the past has heavily influenced who we are and who we have become, it does not define, limit, or restrict us and who we choose to be."
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
I am greatly enjoying the ongoing discussion about this post on social networking websites, especially Reddit.
Many are concluding that the past does indeed define us, insofar as what has happened in the past has decisively influenced who we are and brought us to the present moment. This is undoubtedly true and is even asserted in the piece: “…the past has heavily influenced who we are and who we have become…”.
However, I’d like to remind readers that the intent of the piece is to say that the past — one’s personal history, what has influenced, happened to or affected someone before the present moment — absolutely does not limit someone’s potential: “…[the past] does not define, limit, or restrict us and who we choose to be.”
In other words, while our individual pasts have brought us to this moment (who we have become), we are not slaves to what has happened because the past does not limit our unlimited potential of what we can become, what we can dream, and what we can achieve.
Dave
Great entry Dave!
You should, if you haven’t already, check out Sartre’s concept of “Bad Faith”. I think its one of the more uplifting, and truly human perspectives that he builds.
Keep it up, hope the book process is coming along. I’ll check back soon.
Thanks for the compliment and recommendation. I’ll definitely check that out!
D
Just to clarify:
When I said the concept of “Bad Faith” was uplifting, I meant that the conclusion, the extrapolation, that we, as human beings, are radically free entities and that our choices are not governed by historicity was, to me, encouraging. Obviously the concept of relinquishing our free will doesn’t particularly appeal, haha.
I think this is my favorite piece so far! You should read Milan Kundera’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” for a completely different perspective on why we shouldn’t let the past define us. What he writes is deeply philosophical and has to do with the idea of eternal recurrence, but I think you would enjoy it.
Thank you for the compliment and recommendation. I’ve actually come across Kundera’s book before, either seeing it on the bookshelf or checking it out online, but have yet to read it. Thanks again!
I completly agree with this passage.
I believe we must be grateful to our past and not blame it. The choices we made are what has brought us to where we are now. The lessons were necessary and growth is not designed to be comfortable.
Disagree whole heartedly.
Our EMOTIONAL past doesn’t have consequence on our present lives, however, decisions I made as long as 5 years ago (failing to finish high school, not going to college soon, having a young pregnancy, and moving across the country twice) are now limiting and controlling how I live my life now.
It’s never to late to try and change things, and we can take control now, but that doesn’t go against the fact that the past does and will continue to control us.
@Anna — I would respond by saying it’s only by your choosing do you let the past control you today and tomorrow. As LJ mentions, and as I state earlier in the comments, the past influences where we are today, OF COURSE! :)
The past has taken us to the present moment, but the intent of this piece is to say that if we hang on to the past and it prohibits us from moving forward in the present moment (and on behalf of tomorrow) that we are doign ourselves a disservice.