Everyday Canvas

Is a fresh start really fresh?

Prompt: Since we are in the first week of 2017, what do you think “a fresh start” is, and can there really be a fresh start for anything or anyone if that thing or being has had some kind of a life before?

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A fresh start is taking a beginning step and making use of a new opportunity without regard to the prejudices, left-over hurts, or even the joys of past events. This expression signals hope and transformation, and helps clarify a situation for a person in a bind who wants to change herself or himself or the situation at hand.

It is possible that we can all change direction and venture into new avenues when the going gets tough, but can we really get rid of the memories and the feelings of what happened earlier, unless we suffer from amnesia? I guess not.

If we can’t forget the past, how then can we succeed on the new road without the interference of the apparitions of the past or the memories of it?

My opinion is, there is no way that a different approach will not be influenced by the past in some fashion. Slivers of the past will keep sneaking in and each bump on the road will remind us of the potholes that we once fell into.

On the other hand, a different approach can succeed if we can clearly identify what we value about the new road we are taking and how strongly we value it. If that value is greater and more profound than the reminders of the past, then, we may have a very good chance at success.

A secondary aid on this road can be the support we can get from the people around us and our own abilities. We may be strong enough to keep at what we value on our own, but not everyone is. Some of us need a community to bolster our self-confidence. We need self-confidence to stay and be successful in the new area we are exploring. Self-confidence comes from mastering the ability to feel certain that we can achieve something, and it needs validation to become stronger.

To wrap it up, the past need not be the future, but it is up to us to stop making it so by shoveling away the past mistakes and wounds for today’s and tomorrow’s better choices even if erasing all our memories may be impossible.