“It’s as if the past were sinking
like lead, while the feather-light future defies gravity.” Bernard Cooper
expertly writes Maps to Anywhere,
illustrating throughout the course of his reflections how the past can hold a
person down. By living in past memories, it is difficult to embrace the
present. For Cooper, the event he seems to dwell upon most is the death of his
brother. From my own experiences, it is always difficult to let go of loved
ones. It takes years to move beyond the grief phase; each loss seems to take a
small part of my heart. That place never fully heals, but eventually it does
scar over with good memories and the pain fades.
With a loss, there is often one question
floating through people’s minds, “why, if no one wants to, [does] everyone
dies.” This is the question that could be the cause the deluges of tears; those
still left on earth cry, not because they are sad for the deceased, but because
they miss them. Constant longing for their return, renews the sorrow. It is
this living in the past that pulls anyone down like lead, as Cooper describes
it.
However, there is always a hope of a
feather-light future where we can all move on from past grievances. This is the
hope that keeps us all going from day to day. Without it, we would never be
able to remember people with fondness: move on. As Navajo proverb says, “You
cannot see the future with tears in your eyes.”
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