Are We the Result of What We Learn?

While I was reading Paulo Coelho’s Aleph, I paused for a while to let the new idea I was introduced to by the brilliant writer sink in my mind and reside in a safe place over there. And I thought I should share it with you, my dear followers from around the world, to be released from past experiences that might be imprisoning some.

“Are we the result of what we learn?”

“We learn in the past, but we are not the result of that. We suffered in the past, loved in the past, cried and laughed in the past, but that’s of no use to the present. The present has its challenges, its good and bad side. We can neither blame nor be grateful to the past for what is happening now. Each new experience of love has nothing whatsoever to do with the past experiences. It’s always new.”

“Peopl aren’t used to that way of thinking, they want everything to stay the same–“

“and the consequence of that is pain,” I say, interrupting the speaker. “We are not the person other poeple wish we were. We are who we decide to be. It’s always easy to blame others. You can spend your entire life blaming the world, but your successes or failures are entirely your own responsibility. You can try to stop time, but it’s a complete waste of energy.”

Aleph, Paulo Coelho