By: Frank James, Special to the Milwaukee Times
There are millions of people being tortured by something that cannot be changed so there is no succor. These people either are suffering from self inflicted damage, or others are using these actions as a weapon against them. These actions that can’t ever be changed or banished are the past. It is time to let the past be just what it is; the past.
There is only one time that exists in the world. That time is now. The future has not come and the past is done. Yet, in the world there are millions of people who are tortured, or prisoners, of something there is no answer for. The past is something everyone has, and has lived through. The key is the latter part of the previous statement. Lived through, which means it is done. Why are so many people judged, manipulated, and mentally tortured by this unchangeable specter of life? Unless you have a time machine there is no way you can change the past.
Many people relive their past daily in their own minds. They regret decisions made in the past and allow so called errors made years ago to taint their present. How many times have you seen a person shaking their head while relaying a tale of woe from years gone by? The person who does this are sadists to themselves. These people are reliving events that they claim they did not enjoy. Why? They are in the grip of the past and it is hindering their growth in the now. Think. If something that happened in your past was an unpleasant event why spend any time reliving it? Every time you think about this event you relive it. Who does this unless they are a pain freak? Let the past go and live in the now.
The past is often used by others to create guilt in people. I am not referring to acts of crime. I am talking about events or activities a person has done earlier in life and another person uses these actions against the person who committed the acts. What a person did in their teens or early adulthood is the past. Why try to make them feel guilty over some act a person committed before you knew them? First off, why are you asking about a persons past then using the evidence against them? This is one reason many relationships fail. Enjoy the person in front of you now, and let the person they were before they met you rest in peace.
Traumatic events can cause pain for years. These type of traumatic events are different from the ordinary past events most people suffer from. For example, the past event of having a relationship with a loser. Or, the act of constantly being reminded by others, or yourself, of past failures. Another example, the mental torture about the other parent of a child that is yours. These are the past events many people blow out of portion and wind up traumatizing themselves, or others, by either thinking or badgering others with the details. Let the past go. The loser relationship ended months ago. The failure is done, why relive it? Your baby parent, is here along with the child. Go forth and don’t have another child with this person. Once you let go of the misery living in the past creates and live in the now the 18 years will go by quickly.
One final note. If someone tries to use your past against you to create guilt, walk away. Unless you committed a capital crime, walk away. Everyone has a past. Do not allow yourself to be berated over past acts you committed, that eventually got you to where you are today, if you are happy with yourself. White people in the USA refuse to let their past actions in the US hinder them, and their offspring, via Anti-CRT legislation. If Whites can ignore their past, I think everyone, who hasn’t committed a capital crime, deserves a break.
Frank James IV © 2025
beingfrankwithfrank@gmail.com
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.
