YEARS AGO... AND MILES BEHIND...

May 12, 2012

We, often, say: "We should learn from our past experiences... and move on in life."

I think, our Pasts - whether pleasant or unpleasant - have only so much to offer us: a learning experience... Yes, just like our Play School or Kindergarten experiences...

To hold on to such experiences, and not allow ourselves from savoring the present-day experiences, is being dumb... Yes, to say the least.

It is the most self-destructive act we carry out on ourselves… and, in the bargain, allow our own act of ‘ignorance’ to rob us of our simple bliss of existence.

We do. Most of us do… And, we do it again and again… and over and over again!

Yes, that's what most of us do. We cling to our Pasts, mostly the unpleasant ones, and we keep ruining the joy of our present moments...! The mind is so embroiled in the Past unpleasantness, that however great promise the Present holds for us, we still refuse to recognize it, savor it... We are still caught-up in our bygones – which, for all practical reasons, are a dead-meat... can't be brought back to life. And, yes, we keep doing that despite knowing that our holding-on to our past unpleasant experiences only makes our beautiful present experiences what they, sadly, become - a 'dead meat'!

Does Past help us grow? Enrich our lives? Does it cripple us or empower us? Does it add more joy or more despair in our lives?

The honest answer is enough to motivate us to decide what is to be done: to keep holding on… or to just drop.

The holding-on comes easily to our Minds… The Mind is weak… Blame comes easily… The victim-hood doesn’t call for any strength, any honesty… and any courage from our hearts or Minds.

Yes, we slip into victim-hood easily!

To be a Victor in life, we need to be exceptionally Proactive – be in charge of our own affairs. No amount of blaming helps in life. Period. No amount of clinging to unpleasantness – however justifiable it may seem to be – helps in life. Period.

Yes, the early we see this reality, the better.

The letting-go of the unpleasant past is easy:

One, when we see the reality of our imprisonment;

two, when we say full-heartedly,

and unconditionally,

‘YES’ to the present reality!

An old story makes me always smile:

One day, two monks were crossing a river. The water was knee-deep, and there were many people crossing the river. A pretty young-woman was afraid to cross. When the elder monk saw the plight of this frightened woman, he gently said to her, “My child, may I help you?”

The young lady was relieved on hearing monk’s gentle words and expressed her need to be helped.

The elder monk leaned forward, gently lifted the pretty young-woman and gracefully carried her to the other side of the river. On reaching the other side, the monk respectfully placed the woman on the ground. The young woman profusely thanked the helpful monk and went her way.

After hours, and after traveling miles of distance, the elder monk noticed the younger one a lot distressed. “What is the problem, my son?” he enquired gently, “What is that weighing you down, so much?”

The younger monk did not wait too long to answer. “Sir, we are Monks. You know very well that our Shastras prohibit us from ‘touching’ a woman, let alone a young and pretty one,” he said unable to carry his heavy burden. “But sir,” he continued, “you not only ‘touched’ this young and pretty woman… you ‘carried’ her, holding her so close to your heart… all the way through the river! Is it not a sin?”

“My dear son,” the elder monk said to his disturbed junior, “I have ‘dropped’ that woman hours ago and miles behind… But, you seem to be ‘carrying’ her… holding her so close to your heart, even now!”