[yWleIJm4]

all of the responses so far have been eloquently written!

for my part, i've learned not to dwell in the past, or spend too much time thinking about the future; for if you do that, you're missing out on the best part of life - living in the present here and now.

with that said, the past is still very useful - memories are from the past; experiences and learning are in the past... i'll echo what has been said:

you can go back into the past and reflect on mistakes made, or any negative feelings you may harbor towards this or that. you can do this, and alter the past, using forgiveness as your tool. forgive others, forgive yourselves. this will help to release or, better yet, alter "stored energy" so that it can be purified. doing this, we can abandon the victim mentality, which, personally, is what i see alot of people suffering from...

yes, everyone makes mistakes - that is how we learn! however, if we don't take some wisdom from these mistakes, then we will continue to make them, as if guided "karmically" to learn these lessons...

this is a good thread with alot of knowledge and wisdom contained in the various posts. to finalize, for me, the question then becomes, how much "time" is too much "time" to dwell on past events? ... for certainly, it can be beneficial to remember happy events. remember good times with loved ones who've passed...

of course, these "passed" loved ones are always with us, for, and i quote:

we are made up of those around us. our family, our friends, our associates all contribute to who we are as a person. sorry for going off tangent there - just last week was the seventh anniversary of my mother's unexpected passing. so much pain, eventually to be replaced, with so much understanding and growth...

art