Some people seem to carry the past around like an old suitcase.

The suitcase is torn, the handle is broken, and the contents smell musty, but they refuse to put it down. Every now and then they open it, pull out an old hurt, dust it lovingly, and tell everybody how badly they were treated.

Some nations, especially ours, do the same thing.

We are constantly reminded by those in power, of what happened hundreds of years ago. We are told about Moghul invasions, British occupation, injustices, the killings during partition, exploitation, and every wound history has ever inflicted upon us. Some people seem determined to keep those wounds fresh.

Now I am not suggesting that history should be forgotten. History is a good teacher. If we do not learn from it, we are likely to repeat it. But there is a difference between learning from history and living inside it.

Imagine a man who has recovered from a terrible illness. He is healthy, prosperous, and full of energy. Yet every morning he gathers his family around him and spends three hours describing the fever he had twenty years ago.

After a while the family would probably suggest a psychiatrist or mental hospital for him.

The same could apply to our nation.

We should be thankful, because every few days there is a new inauguration. A bridge is opened. A flyover is unveiled. A train is flagged off. A road is dedicated. A building is inaugurated. There are speeches, photographs, garlands, applause, and declarations of progress.

And what is an inauguration if not an act of thanksgiving?

It is society saying, “Look what we have achieved.”

It is a celebration of the present.

But if, in the same breath, we are constantly being told to remember old wounds and ancient grievances, then something strange happens. The joy of the present gets diluted by the bitterness of the past.

Gratitude and resentment cannot live in the same room.

The more thankful we are for what God is doing today, the less power yesterday has over us.

I have discovered this in my own life. The hurts that once seemed enormous began shrinking when I started counting blessings instead of bruises. Gratitude has a remarkable ability to heal memories. It does not erase the past, but it removes the poison from it.

Perhaps that is a lesson for all of us, including those who govern us.

If we truly believe India is progressing, then let us celebrate that progress. Let us thank God for every road, bridge, school, hospital, and opportunity. Let gratitude become stronger than grievance.

For when thanksgiving fills the heart, yesterday finally loses its power to wound, and tomorrow becomes a place of hope.

Are the national hate mongers listening? Ok, even if they are not, are you listening?

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