"I am on a journey... With my work, my explorations, and a few sad stories. I travel with a suitcase full of outrageous blessings. I am on a quest for truth, beauty, and quiet joy. I am an artist, a writer, an explorer."

Monday 14 July 2014

Footfalls Echo

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.
~ T. S. Eliot, The Four Quartets

We have this stubborn habit of continuously attempting to grasp what is not here, be it in the past or future. The truth is there is only the present. What has happened, whether we regret it or not, will always remain in the past and is not redeemable. So why do we allow ourselves to suffer? I think regrets play quite a decent role in keeping us from letting go. We ceaselessly reflect back to what could have been had we chosen another path, over and over, as if this endless contemplation might miraculously change what has already happened. It is inevitable that we will sometimes wish that we could go back and relive certain moments, perhaps in order to act differently or to take action even for an inaction we regret. We keep replaying events in our minds, pondering on all different possibilities, as if we can actually change something now. Regrets are a part of life; the best we can do is learn from them. Whatever is done is done and shall remain in the past; I always say that it is for the best, no regrets. We might not be able to see how just yet, but everything happens for a reason, or so I believe. All that we have is the present; the future is not ours to see either. So let go of the past, make the most of the present and que sera sera :) 

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

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