Everyone needs a good dose of selective amnesia. There's value in forgetting, specifically the not so good things we all encountered in life.
We all experienced some pain and sadness in varying amounts and frequencies. The annoying thing is that these always return to your consciousness, sometimes, at the most importune timing. At your peaceful and silent moments, the past has a way of creeping up to your mind. Memories and remembering have that tendency.
We all know that what is past is past, and what happened yesterday can no longer be reversed. But still, the past has a strong grasp on our hearts that we can't easily break loose. Maybe this power over us is due to regret and the desire to go back and change things. Moreover, it can be the wish for such things to never have happened.
What should be done is to forget: there's a need for selective amnesia.
In one sense, the present and future are built on the past. The string of past tears and laughter is connected to who we are today. We may regret or resent the past, but we can't deny it. If we do, it's tantamount to a denial of one's self. It would be being dishonest. When you look at it from this view, the acceptance of the past is also the acceptance of one's self.
What we should remember is that we once lived in a certain way, made mistakes, was hurt, overcame the pain, and learned from them. What we should forget is the anger at the pain, the shame from being mistaken, and the dejection from having tripped or fallen. What we should remember is that we did the best we could, made decisions we thought were right, and that we took our chances. What we should forget is the stigma of failure, the obsession over what could have been, and the chagrin from a mistaken decision. We should remember that we are not perfect, and we should forget that imperfection is a sin.
How to get selective amnesia?
Simple.
Live, love, learn. Move forward. And watch good anime and read great books and manga. Drink good beer, eat good food. Just live and keep walking forward. It won't be bad to have someone walking besides you as well.
Remember that forgetting is a blessing.
We all need a good dose of selective amnesia.
Your post is timely for me. :)
ReplyDeleteMemory often betrays. It fails when you badly need it. It works when you want to shut it down.
I think selective amnesia could also be CTRL + N in Word. You don't really have to delete the old document if you can't. But you can always open a new blank one for a fresh start. :)
Hope this post helped a bit.
ReplyDeleteWe could always use a blank slate to start from.
Sorry to hear about your kitten.