"The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it"

This quote by Wendell Berry talks to the idea that our past belongs of who we are which we can not leave it. We might attempt to escape the bad parts of our past, but the only method to do that is to add something better to it. This recommends that we ought to not try to forget our past, but instead use it as a foundation to build something much better. We ought to learn from our mistakes and use them to develop a much better future. This quote encourages us to take responsibility for our past and utilize it to produce a better future. It is a suggestion that we can utilize our past to create something much better and that we should make every effort to do so.