Write your own story (Margaret Atwood)

This quote came from Margaret Atwood's short-story collection "Moral Disorder". She writes, all that anxiety and anger, those dubious good intentions, those tangled lives that blood, I can tell about it or I can bury it. In the end we'll all become stories.

This quote comes at the end of a short story where a woman passes away in her home. The real estate agent becomes convinced that the house is haunted. When the previous owner's friend tells a story to the house's new buyers, they find it charming. To them, the alleged haunting and the story behind it adds character. In the end, it's these stories that live on after we die, the memories told by the people we touched. Each moment, good or bad, adds texture to the narrative. Over time even the painful experiences lose their stain. You can see them for what they are, an indelible part of your life story. 

So instead of dwelling on the difficult times or trying to bury them, remember that every experience is part of what makes our lives unique. The past can't and shouldn't be forgotten, but het future is still a blank page. It's up to you to write the rest of your story.