Dimitte Praeterita | Let Go of the Past
Mihi ignoscas for the usage of Latin mea lector, but it's 3:00 in the morning here and I am wide awake, hungry, and my creative juices are flowing (not to mention a surplus of bile and gastric juices I reckon).
It is not the first time I've ranted in the middle of the night, nor it won't be the last. But there is a disturbing trend that I see in most of my friends and loved ones have been exhibiting. It's not completely new; heck, some would even consider it to be healthy as it is a part of culture.
That, my friends, is the past. Not the past per se, but things in our past. Things that have destroyed us and left us broken; hurtful things that we vow to get vengeance; things we, as people, would repeat in our mind until it festers and consume our energies and thoughts, becoming the shell of that past.
It is not bad to look at our past, it's nice to visit once in a while, but certainly not to stay. We all have our ghosts in the past, just waiting to be opened up and wreak havoc. It may be trivial, or it may be life-shattering. But just like a ghost is a fleeting apparition, so too can your pasts be conquered.
We all have our ways to deal with the specter of memories past: some bury it and forget it, others burn it to kindle their future, some embrace it, others procreate with it and produce additional problems (ba-dum tiss). But sooner or later in our lives they will show up. Whether we are ready or not will be up to you.
But remember this: Your past doesn't necessarily define you; you are different 10 seconds ago than by the time you reach the period of this sentence. Second, third, or fourth chances await your every turn. Make peace with your past, with yourself. Vanquish your demons lest you be consumed by them. And if you are living and breathing now, congratulations.
You have the potential to do great things.