Janus is the Roman god of doorways and passages, and is depicted with two faces on either side of his head, looking into the future and the past. Professor Quirrell much?
Being associated with doorway, Janus is the god of beginnings. The temple to Janus, Ianus Geminus, meaning “Twin Janus”, in Rome, was used to signal to neighboring cities whether Rome was at war or peace. If the doors were open, Rome’s neighbors know it was a time of war. If the doors were closed, Rome was at peace.
So anyway, all new beginnings come from the end of old beginnings, right? So when someone says that you have to leave the past behind, I say no, you have to remember the past and carry it with you. If you leave the past behind, then how can you learn anything from it? Forgive, but never forget.
When people ask what I would change about my past, I say I wouldn’t change a thing. Why? Because Who we were in the past has made us who we are today. Any who we are today will make us who we are in the future. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? If you change one thing in your past, you would be a completely different person. Everything you have experienced, from as little as getting a paper cut, to as big as getting accepted to college, or getting your dream job, has made you the person you are today. You learn from everything that happens to you.
To tie this back to Janus, the past is just as important as the future. Every open door in your future, comes from one you opened in your past. Nevr forget where you came from, and never stop looking forward to where you’re going.
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