Framed

There is a fine line between letting something go and forgetting it.

After all, the past made us who we are today. Forgetting all the lessons, both good and bad, would leave us empty. Hollow. Mere shells of the rich, complicated creatures we have grown to be.

Still, carrying the past around with us takes up a lot of room that could be better used for new experiences and while they cannot be completely untainted by our past, there is no reason they should be weighed down and dulled by them either.

So how is it possible to let it go without forgetting it completely?

I think of it as an art gallery. I can stroll past all those things that hurt me and remember the pain without actually feeling it. After all, a picture is two dimensional and contained in a frame. There is no reason, or really any way, I can step into it and become part of it again. I simply take what I learned from it and move on. I don't actually forget it, but I can leave it behind unless I feel the need to re-visit it.

There is power in that.

And it frees me up, gets rid of the darkness, fills up the potholes, so I can move into the present whole and ready to deal with what is, instead of what was.