Not without the past .1 , by Erik Pevernagie Oil on canvas,(100 x 80 cm)

When our consciousness has become a haven of illusions, our mind may have difficulty fighting the maze in our thinking. Only anchor points from our past and our childhood innocence might give back the core of what we are.

Even if we have bad feelings about our past, causing a sense of alienation, it is part of our history. We have to keep in mind that we should not take all benchmarks and decisions for the future without consulting the past.

The past becomes our second personality. It is our intrinsic safety code, irrespective of a potential love-hate relationship. It may become our guardian angel and protect us from a bleak blind alley since it knows that “we” know and we know the colors of its cards.

Experience is a demanding master and knows the tricks of the trade. It teaches us how to play.

We needn’t burn down the bridges of the past, even if the castles of our youth have been shattered in our minds leaving destructive resentments.

If we are erring through a wasteland of memories, missing all the appointments with love, we must decide to give up the crusades against the figments in our thinking pattern. We must not allow draconian phantoms of the past to possess our thoughts and colonize our life.

If we feel uncomfortable with the harrowing ugliness in the world and the infuriating violence in our environs, we must not wait to speak out loud, louder, and louder until the hot-air balloon of indifference and intolerance finally blast into pieces.

Phenomenon: The past

Factual starting point: Woman looking back