Not Picking Up the Pieces

"I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken, and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken pieces as long as I lived." -- Margaret Mitchell

This happens to be my favorite quote (and from my favorite author, as well). A basic analysis of it would state, "Don't pick up the pieces." Yet, if you look at it from my point of view, it would state something a little more elaborate. "I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new." Margaret Mitchell is simply saying there that she was never one to fret over "spilled milk". "What is broken is broken," another way of saying, "What's done is done." "I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken pieces as long as I lived." That simply says, "I'd rather not pick up the pieces instead of having to see the broken thing for the rest of my life." Therefore, it's better to remember that thing at its best than to have to see it at its worst for the rest of your lifetime. Just, simply, don't pick up the pieces. Memories can, in fact, be better than the actual experience.