Boy, you're gonna carry that weight

We all carry the weight of things in the past. I have spent some time recently thinking about the weight that I'm carrying. Things that have happened to me, around me, to others close to me. I realized that there is no use in carrying it around. It's the past. It's gone. Move forward. Live now, not then.

So what brought on this exercise in self realization. Actually, a very short fable. I read it and it hit me hard. I love it when I read something and I have to stop, literally. These are the events that take me down a new path.

Here's the story. Let me what you think.

Two traveling monks reached a town where there was a young woman waiting to step out of her sedan chair. The rains had made deep puddles and she couldn't step across without spoiling her silken robes. She stood there looking very cross and impatient. She was scolding her attendants. They had nowhere to place the packages they held for her, so they couldn't help her across the puddle.
The younger monk notices the woman, said nothing, and walked by. The older monk quickly picked her up and put her on his back, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other side. She didn't thank the older monk, she just pushed him out of the way and departed.
As they continued on their way, the young monk was brooding and preoccupied. After several hours, unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "That woman back there was very selfish and rude, but you picked her up on your back and carried her! Then she didn't even thank you!"
"I set the woman down hours ago," the older monk replied. "Why are you still carrying her?"