"I still react to attack with too extreme a response," Hirianthial said. "Even against people I know to be safe."Not the sort of insight I expect to find in an entertaining space opera, but welcome no matter where it shows up. Yes, living in the past ... a problem and we all do it.
"You are living in the past," Urise said. "We shall have to remedy that."
Hirianthial glanced at him. "Is that my problem?"
"It's everyone's problem," the priest said with that blend of humor and resignation common to the elderly. "Why should it not be yours?"
M.C.A. Hogarth, Rose Point
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Well Said: Living in the Past
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I really don't think that remembering the past is the same as living in the past. Strictly speaking we live only in the present, and our thoughts and memories happen in the present. We may get tired of hearing someone repeat stories or memories of their past or even their dreams of the future, but that tiredness or annoyance is something happening in the present, too. Time is weird.
ReplyDeleteYes, but remembering is not what this refers to ... the past can influence how we react, decisions we make, and the person we are. Sometimes healthily, sometimes unhealthily.
DeleteCan we come to terms with the past and move forward, informed by but NOT influenced unduly by the past ... can we not let the past become so important that it dictates our actions now? I've struggled with that and I bet there's not a person on the planet who hasn't especially once they get to adulthood.