Presence of the Past

So I got to thinking earlier (as I was about to use something that a past friend had given me) about how we put stigmas on objects and gifts. Like if an old  boyfriend burned you a CD it's a requirement to literally burn that CD after you've broken up with said boyfriend. Or tearing your ex best friend out of all group pictures, and so on. I mean how many books, movies, television shows, and songs have told us to do just that? Why is it that we try so hard to erase things that didn't end exactly how we thought they would? I must admit there are many pictures I am tempted to burn, and some objects I've contemplated getting rid of, but at the end of the day isn't that a little silly? These pictures and objects meant a lot to us at the time, or we wouldn't still have them, so why can't they still mean a lot? Granted people change and a lot of relationships don't work out, but there was a point when everything was okay. So I think it's okay to keep things from the past and to remember the happiness that you once had with that person, rather than dwell on the way things ended. Even if the relationship turned out to be a lie, it was true for a time.
I must admit I have never been in love, so perhaps after that "first love" break-up I won't be quite as optimistic about this topic, but for now this is where I stand. I'm not saying to treasure left over objects and pictures from past shipwrecked relationships, I'm just saying I don't think demolition is always the best option.

& just in case you think my opinion is BS, here's a link to a blog that gives you the steps to having a successful Ex-boyfriend Burning Party that I accidentally came across... in case you weren't aware there are several steps involved.  CLICK HERE