ARE YOU STUCK IN THE PAST

Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote: “No one deliberates about the past, but about what is future and capable of being otherwise, while what is passed is not capable of not having taken place.” He then quotes another ancient Greek poet named Agathon, whose works have long been lost, with this statement, that is worth considering. Agathon said: “For this alone is lacking even to God, to undo things that have once been done.”¹ In other words, even God will not change the past.

So why do so many people attempt to undo what even God will not undo? I’m sure you’ve heard those famous words: “If I would have only…” or, “I wish I would have…” and, “If I could do it all over again…” But what makes matters even more difficult is that such people continue wallowing in their grief over not having done then what they wish they would have done. It’s often called, “Living in the past.”

I heard this story while visiting India: When they want to domesticate an elephant so it will not run away, they tie one of its legs to a large tree. As the elephant pulls and twists its leg trying to get free, the chain wears through the skin and begins to cause severe pain. Once the elephant is tamed, from then on they can tie it to a small pole and the elephant will stop trying to move away as soon as it feels the tug of the rope on its leg.

That’s how some people are tied to the past, trying, again and again, to change what happened. They think they can do so by feeling sorry, apologizing over and over again, and grieving over what they should have, would have, or could have done differently. This then keeps them from reaching goals set for them in life. Let go and move forward! Don’t keep trying to do what even God will not do – change the past. – Dr. Robert R Seyda