Seared Into The Heart.
Life is full of experiences. Some are good, others are bad. These experiences play a huge role in moulding us into the persons we become. The happy experience of being with family members, the proud moment when you came out tops in your class, that pleasurable sensation when you first fell in love and had your first kiss, that overwhelming joy when you saw your name on the university admission list, are all part of life's good experiences. These good experiences are usually intertwined with some bad experiences. The death of loved ones, failure in a particular endeavor, the emotional pain of a heartbreak, are some of the sad experiences life throws at us.
Interestingly, I have observed that people tend to cling to their sad experiences while disregarding their good experiences. An undergraduate who passed all his papers experiences transient happiness that dies off afterward. In fact, there are usually little or no emotions when he wants to recollect how he sailed through. In contrast, a girl who had an extra year in school probably because she failed a course, would get so emotionally attached to that experience throughout her life. Whenever she thinks about school, she immediately remembers what she went through.
The girl who got sexually abused as a teenager would most likely harbor a strong feeling of resentment for men and
her heart would be filled with indignation each time she remembers her predicament.
Some of such victims now despise men and vowed never to have anything to do
with men.
Some questions readily come to mind, why are bad experiences imprinted, perhaps indelibly, in our minds? Why do we refuse to heal by deliberately carrying the weight of the past on our shoulders? Why do our sad experiences leave an unforgettable stain in our hearts? Are we created to behave this way?
The gratitude of the woman who is healthy
cannot be compared to the disappointment of the other woman who has cancer. The
joy of the girl who got married in her 20's is nothing compared to the sadness
of the lady who is still unmarried in her late 40's. The satisfaction of the
young man who is gainfully employed in his early 20's is insignificant compared
to the disgust of the man who is unemployed in his late 30's.
I have always wondered, does being
emotionally attached to our bad experiences make us better persons? I do not
think so. Many persons, while cleaving unto their bad experiences have turned
down opportunities for new and pleasant experiences. A girl who refused to heal
from the heartbreak of a promiscuous boyfriend might unknowingly ignore a man
who sincerely loves her. Some persons have developed low self-esteem because
they failed a single course which led to an extra year in school while
disregarding the fact that they passed about 50 other courses. That girl who
performed her rendition beautifully on stage and even got a standing ovation
from her audience would only experience a momentary awesome feeling. If the same
girl had had a faux pas on stage, that experience would be seared forever into
her heart. She might even decide never to give a rendition on stage again.
It is true that our bad experiences cause our hearts to bleed. However, we must make the decision to heal and learn from those experiences. Just like physical wounds require cleaning and treatment to avoid emitting repugnant smell, the emotional injuries we've sustained requires cleaning and treatment. If we refuse to heal from these experiences, it breeds negative energy and unpleasant character that scares people away from us. No one likes to stay around people with sore and smelly injuries, be it physical or emotional injuries.
The truth is, people are not what happens to them. They are what they choose to become. We must learn to forgive ourselves and move on. It frees us from the past and welcomes us to a potentially great future.
About the writer
OGBONNAYA MICHAEL is a graduate of mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri. He hails from Abia State, Nigeria.
Michael is a creative writer who tries to
tackle societal problems with his writing. He is currently serving his country
under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
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