--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may be done with the past but the past…" description: "\"“We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. Show more Show less”\" — Bergen Evans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/bergen-evans-24643_past_we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-pas_341492.jpg" --- # We may be done with the past but the past is not done with… ![“We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. Show more Show less” quote by Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/bergen-evans-24643_past_we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-pas_341492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/bergen-evans-24643_past_we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-pas_341492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/bergen-evans-24643_past_we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-pas_341492.jpg) > ““We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. Show more Show less”” [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The past continues to influence us, even when we think we’ve moved beyond it. **In simple terms:** The past still affects us. Key Takeaway Acknowledge lingering influences. Themes memory history personal growth Mood thoughtful melancholic Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - historical research - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology temporal continuity Questions to Reflect On - What past experiences shape your present? - How can you release unhelpful lingering effects? A Different Perspective May cause fixation on past events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-may-be-through-with-the-past-but-the-past-is-not-through-with-us/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [You know, my music utilizes things from the past, because that's what the past is for. It's to learn from. It's not to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/you-know-my-music-utilizes-things-from-the-past-because-that-s-what/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The past is the past. They call it that for a reason. Dont let the past get in the way of you or your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-past-is-the-past-they-call-it-that-for-a-reason-dont-let-the-past/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know, you can learn a lot from your past, but for me, the past is the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zimmerman/you-know-you-can-learn-a-lot-from-your-past-but-for-me-the-past-is/) [Ryan Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zimmerman/) > [People frequently ask me why I devote so much time to seeking out facts about man’s past…the past shows clearly that we all have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leakey/people-frequently-ask-me-why-i-devote-so-much-time-to-seeking-out/) [Louis Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leakey/) > [Remember the refrain: We always build on the past; the past always tries to stop us. Freedom is about stopping the past, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/remember-the-refrain-we-always-build-on-the-past-the-past-always/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [The past is in the past, thank god it doesn't last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james/the-past-is-in-the-past-thank-god-it-doesn-t-last/) [James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james/) > [What is past is past. You can do nothing about yesterday and last month and the failures of last year, but you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/what-is-past-is-past-you-can-do-nothing-about-yesterday-and-last/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Past is past but you can't erase the past in your life.so,live with it and make it your reason to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyrala/past-is-past-but-you-can-t-erase-the-past-in-your-life-so-live-with/) [Joyrala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyrala/) > [“The past is dangerous, not least because it cannot go away. It is simply there , never to change, and in its constancy it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-esolen/the-past-is-dangerous-not-least-because-it-cannot-go-away-it-is/) [Anthony Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-esolen/) > [“A person can never change the past, but the past can change a person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spasmostar/a-person-can-never-change-the-past-but-the-past-can-change-a-person/) [SpasmoStar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spasmostar/) > [Dont waste your time trying to fix your past ¦ Because your past is already gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/dont-waste-your-time-trying-to-fix-your-past-because-your-past-is/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [“The past is the past, you cant change it. All you can do is look forward to the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vandyken/the-past-is-the-past-you-cant-change-it-all-you-can-do-is-look/) [Ashlee VanDyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vandyken/) > [“Each day was a gift, and I needed to learn to appreciate the here and now instead of dwelling on the past. The past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-robinson/each-day-was-a-gift-and-i-needed-to-learn-to-appreciate-the-here-and/) [K.A. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-robinson/) > [A lot of people are really hung on the past - they can't get past that - but you've gotta get past that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-paul/a-lot-of-people-are-really-hung-on-the-past-they-can-t-get-past-that/) [Vinnie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-paul/) ## More by Bergen Evans > [Many studies have established the fact that there is a high correlation between vocabulary and intelligence and that the ability to increase one's vocabulary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/many-studies-have-established-the-fact-that-there-is-a-high/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [We see what we want to see, and observation conforms to hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-see-what-we-want-to-see-and-observation-conforms-to-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Legislators who are of even average intelligence stand out among their colleagues. . . . A cultured college president has become as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/legislators-who-are-of-even-average-intelligence-stand-out-among/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Stoicism is the wisdom of madness and cynicism the madness of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/stoicism-is-the-wisdom-of-madness-and-cynicism-the-madness-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning, and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/wisdom-is-meaningless-until-your-own-experience-has-given-it-meaning/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [It (the dash ) is a comfortable punctuation mark since even the most rigorous critic can seldom claim that any particular example of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/it-the-dash-is-a-comfortable-punctuation-mark-since-even-the-most/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [There is wisdom in the selection of wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-wisdom-in-the-selection-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [That is the essence of a witch-hunt, that any questioning of the evidence or the procedures in itself constitutes proof of complicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/that-is-the-essence-of-a-witch-hunt-that-any-questioning-of-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Leadership is more likely to be assumed by the aggressive than by the able, and those who scramble to the top are more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/leadership-is-more-likely-to-be-assumed-by-the-aggressive-than-by-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [The mere abhorrence of vice is not a virtue at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/the-mere-abhorrence-of-vice-is-not-a-virtue-at-all/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [“Euphemisms persist because lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/euphemisms-persist-because-lying-is-an-indispensable-part-of-making/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [An honorable man will not be bullied by a hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/an-honorable-man-will-not-be-bullied-by-a-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Speech is highly elliptical. It would scarcely be endurable otherwise. Ellipsis is indispensable to the writer or speaker who wants to be brief and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/speech-is-highly-elliptical-it-would-scarcely-be-endurable-otherwise/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/lying-is-an-indispensable-part-of-making-life-tolerable/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) [Explore all 24 Bergen Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## More Past quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You can think about it, wonder what went wrong, over analyze the situation but the fact remains... it's the past, just let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/you-can-think-about-it-wonder-what-went-wrong-over-analyze-the/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Right before the pandemic, 'Past Lives' came across to me as something to read and possibly put myself on tape for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/right-before-the-pandemic-past-lives-came-across-to-me-as-something/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/voting-labour-in-the-past-hasn-t-protected-scotland-against-tory/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) [Browse all 19,844 Past quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. 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