"We can never move forward with our lives whilst we remain chained to our past and are constantly thinking upon hurt that should have healed long ago.
Such sad days may have dealt us too much unhappiness then, but be not deceived in the power of the new dawn. Unhappiness of the past should not determine any ill will we feel today any more than past hurtful experiences should define the person we grow to become.
In my life, I have met too many people of black skin extraction whose argument dwelled upon the days of slavery and how the history of hundreds of years and the experiences of their forefathers has hampered their progress in society today. They frequently view honest disagreement as being 'racist' and tantamount to rejecting them as individuals of equal worth when no such slur is implied. Whilst they hang on to such outdated views and continue to see themselves in the victim mode, they will forever feel victims in our society and never rid themselves of the shackles of past enslavement.
Similarly, I have met people whose upbringing led them to experience poverty and instances of regular want and material deprivation in their youth. The feelings from these past experiences were then carried forward to the present day and still remain firmly embedded in their conversations; making them feel constantly deprived however much others give or seek to satisfy them. They carry on their 'penny pinching' today when they have no need to. They allow their past experiences to define their current attitude and behaviour and become too sparing in their love, unsharing in their affection and devoid of emotional expression.
There are also numerous people who look down on corporation house dwellers as though they belong to a different estate. I have met many people who felt ashamed and wear the dress of deprivation because they were brought up in council property. Let me tell you that living on Windybank Estate, Liversedge between the ages of 7-26 years were some of the happiest times in my life and the neighbours we had came from the best stock of person one could hope for. A person grew up feeling that they belonged to something bigger than oneself; a community that cared and shared.
People can become enslaved to all manner of things through parental beliefs, ranging from being forced to practise a particular type of religion to being brainwashed into the lifelong voting of one brand of politics.
I generally find that feeling 'enslaved' is a reflection of 'blaming' others of the past for your specific circumstances today. It is essentially a refusal to own responsibility for your own actions and a denial of your true destiny. It is the thought of 'not feeling free to be oneself' that is the thing which can enslave generations.
Therefore dwell not upon your past if you seek happiness today and desire it again tomorrow." William Forde: June 8th, 2015.