The Past Belongs in the Library-Not the Cemetery

“Learn From Our Past and Not Bury It”

I have heard people say what’s in the past should stay in the past. Get over what happened, move on. You should have gotten beyond that – it happened so long ago. People do say these things to get people to keep moving and not live in the past. You can say that people want us to bury our past, as if it never happened.

With increasing rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety, there is something missing that is not being talked about: what lessons did we learn from previous times that can help us today? This is not the first time in history that people have suffered or lived with death, divorce, unemployment, or rejection. What past experiences are we not sharing with others who could benefit from our past hurts to help them today? The past is not to be erased, due the pain and shame that was connected to it. The past helps us to broaden our perspective and look at things from a new lens. 

However, we need only to look at the past as a frame of reference for a limited time and not stay there. A frame of reference or a library book can only be used temporarily to create a report to educate us on a topic. As we get older, we need to keep learning and think about different sources of information, to keep learning and the past is one source of information. This means our lives are a culmination of lessons learned, broken down into chapters of our lives, and not just painful experiences to feel guilty about. Regardless of the embarrassment and pain, we need to look back to not repeat the same mistakes that lead to painful experiences. It is up to us to share things with others, so they will not repeat the same choices. This also reduces loneliness in others, who feel they are the only ones to go through this experience. As a result, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts can be lessened, and hope and faith in a better tomorrow is increased. 

Experience is the best teacher. With that in mind, what lessons in life can we share that can help others deal with the same problems?