Past and Present

    I have thought about the idea of forgetting or learning from the past and applying it to the present, but there is a point where you are obsessed with your past. I just want to explore some of the balance that is neccesary to live in the best way.
  
    First off, I would like to recognize how useful our pasts can be. Memories are a compostition of  past failures and succeses that we can draw from when we need to. People most often refer to this view of the past as experience. If someone has a lot of experience, they have learned the most effective ways to do or act in a certain way through trial and error.

   Now I would like to point out that memories can also hinder a person's ability to do something. Memories can cause fear, discomfort, or a whole range of distracting emotions. It could make someone hesitant to do something good, like going to the Dentist, or getting a haircut. This is very evident in little children, who don't understand what is good for them, or what was an extreme example of something that normally doesn't happen.

   So in light of these two things, we can go to two extremes. One is where we blow off the past and just keep living without thinking about mistakes or successes. Another is where we cling to the past, constantly moping and whining and being frightened of everything. The trick is to find the balance.

   The balance is different from person to person. Some people only listen to their pasts if they blow them a little out of proportion, while others are very sensititve to past mistakes. There are also individual cases, because all memories affect us differently, where a single memory is difficult to either feel or contain.

    There really isn't one correct solution, or probably even ANY correct solution to help us take advantage of the valuable resource. It is just one of those human things that will never be perfect no matter how we try right now. I hope to find the best balance I can, and I wish others luck in their search for balance.