Ladies and Gentlemen… Boys and Girls…
We are still discussing the topic: What does your life look like, futuristically, when you put your past, present, and past experiences behind you?
Look. I was going to go on and on about what you think your life would look like if you could erase specific memories. But if we examine the full scope of human lives and how we are wired, there is no way to erase these memories unless you develop a rare case of amnesia, and that may not be fun because then the good memories are gone as well. Put the eraser and whiteout down. In life, there is no backspace, delete, or easy buttons. The mistakes, imperfections, and challenges we faced then and those we will experience now and futuristically will be a part of who we are. These experiences are interwoven into what it means to be our authentic selves.
We have always heard the cliché “choose wisely,” but in certain aspects of life, your situations and circumstances are chosen for you. How you deal with, maneuver, and overcome these life complexities matters. Understand that in life, there will be makeshift moments. Also, give recognition to the truth of the matter that we must live by the cliché “life is not easy.” Why because it is NOT.
Everything we do in life should present challenges and complexities. We should all fail at some point in life. If you have not failed, that means you have not tried. That means you have not experienced the true definition of life.I mean, have you been paying attention. I reminded you a few lines up that there was no easy button.
No erasers in the world are powerful enough to obliterate your memories, except for particular head traumas and possibly age. I am sure you will agree that we do not wish to have these two erasers in our toolbox, whereas the aging process is inevitable. In most cases, we all remember what we want to remember, and we remember things how we want to remember them, but that only means they happened to or in front of us. We must never let our negative experiences overshadow our positive experiences. Living with the intent to live a good, happy, and healthy life means accepting the good, bad, and ugly, especially those we can control.
While there may still be regrets and uncherished moments, I have fallen in love with and have learned to appreciate my past. Regarding my past engagements, I have developed a pragmatic disposition and have chosen not to be dogmatic about what did occur but will stay vigilant to what will happen. Why? Because I now know that those disconcerting and pleasant experiences have resulted in me becoming my current person and will forever play a significant role in how I maneuver throughout life from here on out. I have become coupled with my involvements and discernments of life, love, laughter, happiness, success—and unsuccessfulness.
In truth, I have realized that if we took a step back and pontificated on the question, “what does my life look like if I could erase unwanted or bad memories,” your life will be full of holes, incomplete goals, and possible foes and faux friends. Erasing specific components of your life happenings or happenstances may make you feel unfulfilled and empty. You may also experience diminished self-authentication, life dissatisfaction, and poor subjective well-being.
If you were to evaluate your current life situations, there would be some moving parts that you may not be happy or satisfied with and may even detest. But this is your life. You and only you are responsible for living it—no one else. If you don’t like something, then change it. After all, you have the civil right and duty to be happy. While some involvement has restrictions and must be deemed societally appropriate, you must find ways to boost your well-being, life satisfaction, and longevity.
Create experiences, good and bad ones. Be a manifestation of your experiences, the good and bad ones. Learn from your past experiences—don’t erase them. Unquestionably, you will face life adversities; use them to your advantage and become that better person you desire and deserve to be. Afterall, experiences are who we are, were, and will become.
Experiences fit the characteristics and social dynamisms of what it means to be a human being. I thought I wanted to erase specific memories from my past. But I don’t—and neither should you. Yes, we’ve had unpleasant life experiences, but erasing them is not the right approach to deal with them. We must understand that we as individuals have the decision to choose to leave our past behind. I mean, the past, by definition, is something that is gone in time and no longer exists. Hint, hint, gone and no longer exist—your eraser.
So, I have decided to leave my past in the past. I have decided to move forward with my life and to create my own happiness, as you should. Past experiences have taught us everything we now know. Whatever was then has constructed us into being our present and authentic selves. We have learned valuable life lessons, as our todays become our tomorrows. We will have gained more knowledge and experience. We will have become wiser, even though what we have learned is a result of our past. So, I beg of you, put the erasers down. Don’t erase your past. Embrace it because it’s now part of who you are and becoming. Don’t erase your past. Continue to create new memories—remembrances that are gone and no longer exist but still give you reasons to laugh and cry, silently and out loud.
Au'Pearce 