 |
| Source |
I remember how, during my high school days, I eagerly looked forward to the first day of every new school week. Apart from spending quality time with friends, classroom fun with favorite teachers & subjects, or creative experiments during arts & craft, it also meant the class teacher would decide which student gets to write the ‘Quote of the Week’ on the blackboard. Every evening, I would flip & scour the school diary at home, skimming through the quotes printed on the bottom line of each page, looking for the perfect one to write.
But it wasn't just the thrill of being chosen to write on the blackboard that excited me. At certain times of the long school day, my eyes would drift from the teacher and her written white words to the quote written on one end of the backdrop. It made my mind wander off the teacher & stop focussing. As the words glistened on the blackboard, my mind silently read - ‘Honesty is the best policy’, ‘Silence is golden’, ‘Live and let live’ and what not. A stream of thoughts thus initiated as I struggled to make sense of it’s underlying relevance to life. Sure, it wasn’t difficult to understand the meaning. However, it still managed to keep me baffled about its importance in my life or anyone else’s.
One particular week, when my turn finally came up to do the honors, I went ahead promptly and wrote on the blackboard - 'Forgive and forget'. It took me under half a minute to write the words on the board that day. And, it’s taken me over 2 decades & countless experiences to unearth it’s true significance. To this day, I still question the quote - ‘Unpleasant emotional experiences can scar us for life. Even if we are able to forgive a thing of the past or a person or an experience, do we or more importantly, ‘can’ we ever really forget ?’
There have been instances where I have been answered back at, where people have - unknowingly or on purpose - hurt me and never repented their actions, times when everything seemed to fall apart in my mind, when I felt helpless and yet nothing I did helped me. During such times, the aforementioned quote always stood out in memory and made me ponder - Is this achievable in real life?
We always share our deepest secrets, struggles & worries with our close friends and / or family members. Likewise I have had my close ones share their struggles with me.
If I ever happen to have a magical touch, which can make impossible things happen, I would wave my magic wand instantly and...
- help such a person get over the emotional hurdle / situation that he / she is facing and get rid of whatever it is that was bothering them in the first place.
- get them to meet a close friend or family member who wholeheartedly supports them in contrast to people who have let them down. By doing so, I believe they would regain lost strength.
- help release any grudges or negative thoughts. I am sure once the negativity is taken care of, it would also naturally facilitate in forgetting the past and in particular, what has happened.
- stop the person from overthinking, losing mental strength and from losing trust.
Long after such a chapter is closed, it still reels in some of our minds and ensures we place our next step with a careful deal of caution. And no matter how strong a person is, when such experiences take place, even an optimist can skip the silver lining.
Don't you think the world would be a much better place to live in, if everyone could just whiz past the bad experiences and start afresh at the whisk of a wand and a hint of magic ?
Easier said than done. If only there was an straightforward way to achieve this. Being grateful, reading positive thoughts, and meeting positive people also helps but everyone needs just a tad bit of magic in their lives, at some point or another.
Tell me, what are your thoughts about learning life's lessons in a hard way ?
Do you really forgive & forget ?
Yours' truly,
