...they all were, in the grip of a huge fantasy: the idea that men would not be judged by who they once were and what they had once done, if they only decided to be different. They wanted to step away from the responsibilities of history and be free.

Salman Rushdie
About This Quote

The idea that men are judged by the choices they make is a common one. People often say that “we are not our pasts” or “we are not who we once were.” The problem with this idea is that people often forget that all of our pasts have shaped who we are today. We have to face the consequences of the choices we made, even if those consequences were not what we had intended. If you choose not to look back on your life, you will never know all of the gifts you had received because of your past actions. So, the next time you see someone saying, “I am not my past,” ask them to explain what they mean by that statement.

Source: Golden House

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