Erasure
There are moments in our lives we say we wish we could do over again. Some moments we even say we wish had never happened. While the sentiment behind such thoughts and statements may be true, the repercussions of a “do-over” or full erasure of an element of our past could be far-reaching. The direction and realities of our lives could be forever changed; important lessons we have learned could be lost and opportunities could be missed.
This would not be a weightless decision. If you were to ever find a Genie in the Lamp, be careful what you wish for.
1 + 1 + 1+ 1 + ∞ = U
Life is a series of events and experiences. Each builds on the one before it and each stamps its mark on the whole of who we are.
If you are like me, you have casually (and sometimes vehemently) said things like,
“I wish I had never met him/her/them.”
What if the person is the father/mother of your children? If you had never met, you would not have the very children you have. You might still have children, but they would be different children. Would you give up having your current children to have never met him/her/them?
“I wish I had never come here.”
Was it a choice? What led to the choice of being there and how could a different choice have been wiser/less hurtful/easier?
Is whatever happened there something you learned from? Was the lesson an important one and are you a better person for learning it?
“I wish I could do it all over again.”
Would your life be richer or better if you could? How so? Do you know what exactly you would do differently and know that it would produce a more desired result?
Or, do you just want a second chance?
The Sum of Self
Although I had a lousy childhood — and grew up to make many mistakes of my own, I don’t know that changing or erasing anything would position me any better than I am now. The odds could be, I could be worse off.
Would I trade a few bad memories in for a few good ones? Sure, but I would measure carefully the cost of doing so.
Who might you be had certain experiences, or people not touched your life? Where would you be? Is it a better place?
Other Daily Prompt “Erasures”
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | LooknWalk
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | Alastair’s Blog
- Erasure | thelissachronicles
- Leave My Memory, Walk Away | So You Think You Can Think
- Erasure | Angel Frouk
- Ilya Fostiy. Amnesia | Philosophy & Photography
- 12:3 Daily Prompt: Erasure | Family Photos Food & Craft
- Erasure | The Silver Lining of the Optimistic Pessimist
- Erasure | Sweet Somethings
- Once More, and This Time With Feeling | Day of the Week Fat Pants
- Afraid of What I Might See | Daily Prompt: Erasure | likereadingontrains
- All Aboard Pink Express | Misifusa’s Blog
- How To Live With Failure | The Jittery Goat
- That’s life | Spunky Wayfarer
- Daily Prompt: Erase The Bad, Embrace The Good | Creative Mysteries
- Me and I | calliopes lyre
- Aside 23: Erasure? | Excerpts from the Life of RDZ
- A love / hate kind of thing. (Rated PG!) | thoughtsofrkh
- Andy Bell and Vince Clarke?? You Have Me Confused Daily Post.. | Natalie Elizabeth Beech
- Daily Prompt: Erasure « Mama Bear Musings
- March Daily Prompt: Erase Nothing | Portofolio Prita
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | Daddy’s Naughty Little Girl
- Top 10 Magic Eraser Moments | Stuphblog
- On Second Chances. | Share, My Dad Says.
- Daily Prompt: But you left a trace on the data backroad that I almost erased | emma wolf
- if I had a chance | thematticuskingdom
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | The test | They call me Mummy
- Daily Prompt: Erasure, Failure | Lines by Linda
- Erasure | Kansa Muse on Micro Farming and More
- Dead Nerve | Matthew Vett’s Development Blog
- Gooseberries and Fury | The Daily Dilly Dally
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | The Gozum Show
- Erasure – Erasing an Incident From the Past | Beyond Beauty Tips
- So Many Choices, So Much Impact. « Sorta-Ginger
- Temptations | Ald+R
- Daily Post: Erasure | tel-uh-vizh-uh-ner-ee
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
- I would erase it, if I could | World’s heritage travel
- Tardis | theloneshewolf
- Erasure | The Nameless One
- This Could Have Turned Out So Differently | So I Went Undercover
- Daily Prompt: Two Wrongs | One Starving Activist
- DP: Erasure | Life of Me and Mine
- Erasure – Personal reflections and a little respect | Random Encounters of an Inquisitive Mind
- Now then. | Paul Scribbles
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | Basically Beyond Basic
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | Jodies’ Journey
- New post Daily Prompt: Erasure | welcome to my blog
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | cognitive reflection
- The day after – Junin, Buenos Aires, Argentina | melinarepetti
- YOUR KIND OF LOVE ENDED TRUST FOR ME | hastywords
- ERASURE | Maybe NOT : iamstrongerthanever | Kaleidoscopic World in Words
- Erasing A Memory (and my 200th blog post)! 😀 | Starlit Corner*
- Wasn’t going to… | jaycee68
- Daily Prompt: Erasure/ Saying Goodbye | Iyayas!
- A Case of Managerial Guilt | Ecofinanalysis
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | A Western Buddhist’s Travels
- TheDeafia | Daily Prompt: Erasure
- Why you shouldn’t erase your past | Your Inner Feathers by Ruby
- Ersatz Erasure | Happy Monkey Land and Other Musings on Life
- The Queen of Embarrassing Encounters | Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness
- The Quiet One | My past is my present
- Daily Prompt: Erasure | motherofnine9
Cheri Speak 
Well said my friend, once again you’ve penned another winner! You echo my same obsession with time.
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Well thank you very very much 🙂
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`Nice post it does make you wonder at times. Fortunately there are erasers that can do such. I have to say I am personally very grateful for all the things I have wanted to do over. Thanks for sharing such a thought provoking post! 🙂
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Very wise insight.
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Sometimes, I’ve been frustrated with being imperfect and making mistakes, and wondered why God would have had it that way. Well, for one it keeps me humble. And I learn to depend more on God than on myself. Whereas, I went through a divorce and God surprised me by bringing another woman into my life (I was surprised because of the commandments), I have to conclude that he makes use of our shortcomings also, somehow. He must have said “It’s not good for this guy to be alone.” Anyway, I wasn’t alone long; and I had never been one to quickly find a date, so I know He had to have done it. The things God does even through our mistakes is truly amazing.
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Yeh, I’m with you. Vietnam really screwed me up, but I’m pretty much over it. And my belief (who knows how valid?) is that I’m a better person for having overcome who I was when I got back. I’d be a different person now if I hadn’t gone — maybe a banker, or a dentist, a conservative(!) a fundamentalist, a TV addict…. A lawyer. Instead, I smile and laugh a lot, love children and animals, and write important stuff. I wouldn’t trade it for a do-over!
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Exactly. I will take the known over the unknown.
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Pingback: Daily Prompt: Erasure | Jodies' Journey
This is a big thing for me. Many times i wished I didn’t have to go through things. I would like to think I would still be the same awesome person I am now without all the heartache and suffering. But in the end, the things i do have now( mostly love, love for the hubby, love for my doggie, and most importantly my character) is worth it. It is worth all the bad and so much more. I wouldn’t trade a second of unhappiness if it meant taking even a second of that love away. Sometimes, we are oblivious to the “rewards” we received for fighting through the dark phases.
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So true … one never knows if they would be better off or not. Anyhoo, stopping by to see what other wrote form the “Erasure” prompt – yes – I am a day late … would love it if you had time to stop by my place – cheers!
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Everything that has happens to us has brought us to this point in our lives – I don’t know where I heard that, but I think of it often. This is a great post, Cheri. I’m sure everyone has wished these things before, but ‘be careful what you wish for’ is such a true and sobering notion
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Nice, Cheri. I feel lucky, in that around age 30 I finally learned that I cannot go back and change my past. I can only find a way to make peace with those things that eat at me from time to time, learn from them and try writing the story of my life with an idea of where my next stroke is going to go. That’s not to say I haven’t screwed up from time to time. It just means that when I do, I don’t give it any power over me.
I’m fortunate that I really don’t feel as if I didn’t have a choice at any point in my life, although certain choices I made seem to have been the more responsible of the ones I had before me.
The thing about being alive and relatively healthy is that you never stop being, so I might as well concentrate on being the best, most authentic me I can. Past may be prologue, but we get to write the end of our stories.
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“…but we get to write the end of our stories.” Yes Sir 😉
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