A World of Difference

"I'm gonna dig a deep, deep hole
and bury my past."
          That came to me yesterday during my run/ walk and seemed to be some kind of culmination of Sunday's sermon, our men's class lesson from Sunday, and things I've been thinking about lately (baby of the family stuff, as in "I don't have to be Ronny anymore.")
          But the more I thought about it, the less sure I became that I really feel those words. It brought up some questions, especially during my motorcycle mini-road trip today. Is burying your past the same thing as denying it? And if you deny it, aren't you saying it doesn't matter? And if it doesn't matter, then how can you claim to be a product of past expriences, thus wiping the slate of you clean?
          I doubt we can erase our past anymore than we can change who we basically are. What can change is how we deal with the past, acknowledging its effects and affects, but not allowing it to control our lives.  You have to know where you came from to have any idea of where you are going, or if you are making headway.
          It's been said that insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. So there is some credence to be given to keeping your past, if only to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes. Even Jesus understood this. When He forgives sinners, He instructs them to go and sin no more. Isn't it understood that they need to remember what it is they've done so they can avoid repeating it?
          There's a world of difference between living with your past and living in it.