ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Unpack Your Bags - It's Water Over The Dam

Updated on February 26, 2013
Source

As humans, we all have our baggage that we'd like to leave behind. As a society, we are communicators who talk too much without thinking about the meaning of our words. Take the phrase “water over the dam”. We use it a lot but do we ever think about the significance of what it means?

Okay, we’re headed for the on-line dictionaries again.

Your Online Dictionary:

"Something that is over and done with, especially an unfortunate occurrence. For example, Last year's problems with delivery are water over the dam, or Never mind that old quarrel; that's water under the bridge. These metaphoric phrases allude to water that has flowed over a spillway or under a bridge and thus is gone forever. The first term was first recorded in 1797; the variant dates from the late 1800s."

Think about it. No matter how badly you want to, you cannot reverse the flow of living water. Well, that's not exactly true. You could build another dam and force the water to back up. But that's cheating.

For our purposes here, let's just deal with the natural flow of things. Water will not stop, reverse its direction, and jump back up on top of that dam. Agreed?

It's All Good

It's a good thing, to recognize that there are some things you just can't change. Some things are better if we think of them as "water over the dam". They belong in the past. So why do we, as human beings, drag them around with us? Why is it that we use all these words without taking their meaning to heart. Why do we say "it's water over the dam" and still beat that dead horse and drag it around behind us. It's time to start listening to the words we use.

How many failed relationships have you had? Wait, you don't have to answer that out loud. Just think about it. Did you explain your pain away by saying "it's water over the dam"? Yeah, I think we all have. So why are you still crying? Why are you still trashing your partner to your friends? Let it go. Move on.

How about the job you lost? When you had to tell your family, did you help them handle it by saying "it's water over the dam". Yep, me too. So why am I still worrying about how it looked? Because I'm human and no matter how big I talk, I do the same thing. I drag some stuff around. But it's all good because for today, I'm thinking about it and it's time to let it go and move on.

Source

The Lesson

It doesn't matter whether you say it's water over the damn or water under the bridge, the truth is, you can't change it. It's done. Gone. Let it go. Learn the lesson. Move on.

The past is the past. And that's where it belongs.

The future is something you can change. It is within the power of each of us to create a better future for ourselves and for future generations. And the power to create that change is also in our words. Think about those past mistakes and say to yourself with commitment - it's water over the dam and then, start your next sentence with the same commitment and the words - I can. I will.

The Power of Words

When a painter paints a picture, he or she chooses the colors with care. The finished product can be dark or light, negative or positive, depending on the colors chosen by the painter. It is the same for writers. We can write using positive or negative words and the finished piece will represent us as the canvas represents the painter. As human beings, we have the same power in our spoken word. We can remain stuck in the past, playing the victim with words like "I can't" or "I'm afraid" or "It's impossible". And that is exactly what life will bring us. It's the Law of Attraction and you can learn how to use it by clicking here.

If we start thinking about the power of words, and choosing our words carefully, we can attract the best things in life and they are the fuel for positive change. We can unpack our bags; unload the baggage, and leave it behind. Words give us the energy and incentive to reverse negative stereotypes, turn sadness into joy, and make the impossible - probable. Listen to your words and then harness their power.

© 2012 Linda Crist, All rights reserved.

Read more of my hubs here.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)