Libre: Time travel

There are moments in our lives when we would like to go back in time — to ask forgiveness for a wrong done to a friend long gone, to embrace deceased parents whom we neglected in the past, or to witness a historic event we’ve read about.

It is not possible to turn back the hands of time, but human imagination has put this fascination in novels, comics and movies.

In my list of favorite time travel films are “Somewhere in Time,” “Back to the Future,” “The Lake House,” “Groundhog Day” and “12 Monkeys.”

One of the biggest movies of all time — “Avengers: Endgame” — allowed us to journey back to past scenes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In the past week, I binge-watched the South Korean sci-fi TV series, “Alice,” on Netflix.

In summary, Alice is an agency in 2050 that services clients who want to see their loved ones in the past and find closure. Two of its agents who are lovers are sent to retrieve a book that will put an end to time travel. The operation fails as the woman agent opts to remain in the past (1992) as she was pregnant and decides to raise the child who turns out to have Alexithymia, a personality trait of inability to

identify and describe emotions experienced by one’s self.

The mother is killed mysteriously when the child was a youth. In 2020, the son, matured and working as a detective, seeks to find the murderer, as well as, desires to tell his mother how much he loved her.

He later realizes that he had the power to control time.

“Alice” has all the ingredients of a good watch: romance, action and suspense. And it leaves the best in its last episode. It also answers the question, “If given the power, should one change the mistakes of the past, or just leave it as is?”

Years ago, a Jesuit priest guided my wife and me in a personalized retreat. He would read an episode of Jesus’ ministry and tell us to let go of ourselves and situate in the place where Christ was.

With eyes closed, we transported ourselves to the past in an unfamiliar terrain, amid strangers and listened to Jesus before us. It was both magical and enlightening.

“Let the past be the past. Let it not be a headwind that holds us back, but a tailwind that pushes us forward,” is a quotation that directs us to take the lessons of the past positively.

Bury past mistakes. Learn from these. Cherish wonderful memories. Most importantly, live in the present.

Today, hug those whom you love. Let go of anger and hate now. Tomorrow may be too late.