The past is not what it used to be

In Latin, the past — regarding the realm of past events, experiences or situations, is referred to as facta.

The past then is over, done, out of our influence, locked in time — now officially regarded in English, as a fact.

Your ability to physically change the past now, is then non-existent; unless of course you name is Marty McFly and you possess a flux capacitor and a working DeLorean.

But — there are in fact two distinctly different concepts of the past worth thinking about.

There is the actual past, which are the objective facts regarding what actually previously happened; and then there is our personal interpretation of the past (the way we choose to see what actually happened).

Although both these concepts are intellectually relevant, the only past that holds any weight in our minds is the one which we choose to remember; our personal interpretation of what has gone before.

This subjective past is a construct of our minds, regardless of the true facts, which we use in the present; as either an asset of knowledge or a dangerous noose of doubt around our necks. We use this interpreted past to figure out how we should act now and in the future. It’s our trusty reference guide, our mind map, a recipe which we use to guide how we approach situations which we recognise as similar to what has happened before.

The recipe we use however, is not necessarily an accurate or reliable one.

It is a figment of our flawed memory and not an untainted tool.

Perhaps that’s why for many of us, our past rules and commands over us long after it has occurred. Our hang ups and perceived limitations are like an invisible torturer, keeping us in our place through subtle emotional self-abuse. These are the limits we give ourselves.

We may not be able to change the actual facts about the past, but those facts are largely irrelevant. The way we perceive our past is all that really matters; and the good news is that this view can still be remoulded and shaped by us, whenever we choose to extract the useful value from it, without having it obscured by emotional bias.

Perhaps this positive discipline of historical reflection only opens up to us as time from an event or experience progresses, but the challenge is to consciously interrogate why we hold certain world views; and question whether or not they serve us as an asset into the future or not.

Both arrogance and overt caution can be hugely detrimental to our ability to make clear plans and decisions about the path ahead. Both may be useful in small doses, but not without a good dollop of historical context thrown into the mix.

The way we perceive reality and our life purpose is not static.

The same way you can develop your muscles in a gym, you can prod and reform the very constructs of your mind and knowledge to serve you better. A better tomorrow begins by fully exploring yourself and your biased understanding of your own past, to uncover which aspects of what you think to be true now; is just your ‘old, less-knowledgable self’ repeating what you thought to be the truth back then.

You cannot change the facts of the past, but you can certainly change the way the past affects you today.