Second Chances

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Learn from your past, they said. Forgive, but never forget. All these words of, I suppose, wisdom attach themselves to ourselves to be like ribcages protecting the heart that gives us life.

Yet, somewhere along the way, these words turn into walls that imprison rather than liberate. These words somehow lose their wisdom and instead become a fallacy -- an illusion for a sword that we hope will figuratively fight and keep all that could potentially hurt us away. And this sword of hurts easily finds its complementary shield of growing mistrust of everything as everything has the potential to hurt us. Unknowingly, while love waits outside our walls, like mold, fear grows in the cracks and the crevices, further darkening our lives.

All because "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." No one is faced with a similar situation from their past and unhesitatingly canon-balls into the moment. With that said, nobody plunges into "potential heartbreak zone" saying they'd be okay with feeling every ounce of hurts endured like they did before. For this, I'd like to thank Mr. George Santayana for warning us ahead of time.

But really, I'd like to give my AP US History teacher more gratitude when he boldly disagreed with Mr. Santayana. He took my birds eye view and gave me one with a higher definition, one that would treat every moment of history as unique. From far away, we'll notice repeating patterns that seem similar. Blocks of neighborhoods will show similar patterns all over a city -- even some houses are of the same design! Regardless, within each house contains a home different from the one a few steps away.

Maybe I'm crazy, and I'm saying that this gives us every reason to give pain and heartaches a second chance. I used to always fear the day that I'd let my story repeat itself. I used to fear letting myself down  this time around. A second, third, fourth, and, hopefully, fifth & infinity of chances, I hope to always give life. To give myself. Though some days, the cracks and the crevices might look the same, the light that you let in is what will change you. I just figured that no pain, no person, no situation should ever tell us that it's worth losing hope in finding joy and peace and all things good. I think it's fair to say that if we want to have the good things of life, we would gladly endure the hard times. After all, "what bears light must endure burning." 


The pain that comes from waiting and even being turned away of the desires of our heart should not turn us into beings who will dream, hope, and love less. We love because that's who we are. We trust because that's who we are. We give of ourselves not because others will receive, but because we are giving. We forgive not because others asked for it, but because to lack mercy is to shut out love from our lives. Everyday deserves a second chance to be lived regardless of the difficulties, the loss, and the uncertainty of yesterday.

Be brave.