Who really can forget the past? What else is there to know?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Past experiences are unavoidable and shape our knowledge; we cannot truly forget them.
- In plain terms
- We can’t escape the influence of the past.
- What can you take from it?
- Acknowledge the past as part of your present understanding.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does the past limit your present choices?
- When is it healthy to detach from past memories?
Another view
Sometimes letting go of past narratives is necessary for growth.
More from Robert M. Pirsig
Anxiety is sort of the opposite of ego. You're so sure you'll do everything wrong you're afraid to do anything at all. It results from over motivation - leadin…
Permalink to quote #75 Certainly no one could have predicted what has happened. Back then, after 121 others had turned this book down, one lone editor offered a standard $3,000 advan…
Permalink to quote #77 To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.
Permalink to quote #74
Related quotes
There are moments in history when brooding tragedy and its dark shadows can be lightened by recalling great moments of the past.
Indira GandhiIndira Gandhi quote #4 In einem kurzen Weilchen, meine Herren, sehen wir uns ohnehin alle wieder. Das ist das Los aller Menschen. Es lebe Deutschland. Es lebe Argentinien. Es lebe Os…
Adolf EichmannAdolf Eichmann quote #5 And the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget that history puts a saint in every dream.
Tom WaitsTom Waits quote #7