Making peace with your past.

A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own body.  ~André Maurois

When you are surging ahead in life and  there is not time to look back, you simply assume that you have come so far away from your past that it no longer matters. Often in our quest to lead a better present and even happier future, we tend to underestimate the power of our past. All we read and hear these days makes me feel like the past is something that you just erase and replace it with the present. Yet how far is this actually from truth? 

Can we really move forward without making peace with our past? Is our past really something we leave behind, or is it so etched into our souls that it is actually a part of our present? After all aren't we made up of all all the bits and pieces of of our past events and reactions?

I personally feel, just like the flowing water, just like the river, we collect the sand, pebbles, some dirt, some leaves, some happy and some painful memories, along our journey. Some we leave behind, and some even though we would like forget, we carry with us till the end. Our past is a part of us - a part of who we are and we cannot negate it. All our mistakes, all the missed opportunities, all the regrets  are like the fragrance of perfume -you cannot see it,but sense it. It is foolish to assume that we can switch off our emotions and fears, just like that. All our reactions in present is based on what we experienced in the past . Yet we are more than what happens to us - we are more than what destiny has stored for us. We have the infinite 

Stop, and look back - stare fearlessly into the demons of your past- let the fears, let the pain and the regrets die a natural death. Until and unless we look back fearlessly and hush down the demons, we will always be running away from them, frightened and distrustful. Look back and see it for what it is - sad, abusive, painful, shed some tears, and grieve for the person you once were. And once when you have accepted that the past is not going anywhere, but you have tamed it and is under your leash to control how you want to , you will feel liberated and maybe even grateful for the unhappy events in your past.

Make peace, find closures, forgive and choose to bring the best memories forward along the journey, respect the pain and keep it leashed, for if you bury it, it will follow you around like a ghost - appearing when  you least expect it.