The past can teach us, ...

The past can teach us, nurture us, but it cannot sustain us. The essence of life is change, and we must move ever forward or the soul will wither and die.
 Susanna Kearsley

Quotes from the same author

Tis action moves the world....[in] the game of chess, mind that: ye cannot leave your men to stand unmoving on the board and hope to win. A soldier must first step upon the battlefield if does mean to cross it.
 Susanna Kearsley
Hope rarely enters into it. 'Tis action moves the world.
 Susanna Kearsley
Ever try to hold a butterfly? It can't be done. You damage them," he said. 'As gentle as you try to be, you take the powder from their wings and they won't ever fly the same. It's kinder to let them go.
 Susanna Kearsley