Thawing Out the Past?

On January 14, 2011, The Hindu, a respected news publication based in Chennai (Madras), India released an article that may bring you back a few years, or a few thousand.

Apparently, the concept of cloning the long-extinct woolly mammoth is coming back to the forefront, following the topic’s fizzle from public interest in the late 1990s.

In 2008, Teruhiko Wakayama of the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Japan was successful in cloning a mouse that had been dead and frozen in a lab for 16 years. This breakthrough suggests that the door has now reopened for the cloning of the woolly mammoth, which previously failed due to cellular damage caused by the extreme cold in the Siberian permafrost where the great beast was found. “Akira Iritani, professor at Kyoto University, is re-activating his campaign to resurrect the woolly mammoth species that died out over 12,000 years ago.”

While I’m sure genetic biologists are jumping for joy in their lab coats, will there ever be a day when we realize that time progresses and causes change for a reason? When will we let sleeping mammoths lie?

When is it time for us to simply let the past be in the past? For most, including myself, it is much easier said than done.

On a more personal note, it seems as though, just as bad things seem come in the threes, the past comes back to visit occasionally, usually by the bus load.

With the recent return of an old arch enemy, my father’s ex-wife, every problem she tightly packed in her suitcase to take away the day she moved out eight years ago followed her right back through my family’s front door when my father unlocked the deadbolt.

Instead of eating cookies and reminiscing by a warm fire this Christmas Eve, I spent it awake until 2:00 am, futilely arguing with my mother about things that happened back in 1999. And as my eye lids drooped despite my efforts to stay awake and defensive, I realized that sometimes hurt feelings, mistakes, and problems will just never get resolved.

Even though the anger and hurt can still burn in my chest for years after, and various regrets might ring in my ears for even longer, sometimes people will simply never change and never apologize.

So, although we are so sad that Mr. W. Mammoth Sr. couldn’t be here to join his African and Asian Elephant ancestors for a stroll and a bite of greenery, shouldn’t we consider that there’s a reason he’s sleeping peacefully in the permafrost of Siberia?

Although we may never understand the motives of the universe in sending that comet Earth’s way 12,000 years ago, there may have been a very good reason for it, or simply a reason, whether good or bad is irrelevant because it exists in the past.

Dredging up the past and attempting to change it, no matter how scientifically or emotionally driven, can sometimes be a bit pointless and, quite frankly, exhausting.

Experiencing the past in it’s future form is another creature entirely. Whether it be running into an old flame from college and pleasantly catching up, or appreciating the beauty of India’s newly named “National Heritage Animal” (you guessed it: Elephants), reliving the past as it's present state can be a beautiful thing.

Let's honor the great grandchildren of this extinct woolly mammoth by protecting and rebuilding the present Elephant population. Let's hug our family members and love them regardless of the hurtful things they may have done or said, whether we've forgiven them or not. Because, reliving the pain and anger of the past is about as productive as beating your head against a glacier, expecting Dumbo's grandpa to wake up refreshed.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article1092805.ece