Perspective On The Past

Our memory can play tricks on us. As humans we have the unsettling ability to forget the things we want to remember, and remember the things we want to forget. And the weird thing is, we don't get to choose what our memory does. Add to that, along the way we remember things in various versions, adding, deleting, and generally changing things. Sometimes people remember things wrongly on purpose, but many times it is not intentional.

If you aren't careful you can end up romanticizing certain times in your life, and demonizing other times. These exaggerated memories will affect your current experience.There were bad things that happened in the past, but you don't need to waste your now in hatred of pain gone by. You've probably heard people long for 'the good old days.' To be honest, many things were better in earlier times. But we weren't designed to live in the past. Neither lamenting the past, nor wishing for it will make things better today. One day you will have memories of today. If you live today in despair over the glory or the gore of your past, your future will likely include disappointing memories of today. Life and history is very cyclical. For the most part, the way things have been is the way things will be. There will be peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows. But life is pretty much life.

Recognize history. Honor it. Learn from it. But don't idolize it. If you woke up this morning, and you obviously did... today has the potential to be the best day of your life. But not if you spend it in yesterday. Build on your past, don't bury yourself in it.

A wise man had some things to say about this... "Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed... Don’t say, 'Why were the former days better than these?' since it is not wise of you to ask this... In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him... Indeed, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many." (Ecclesiastes 3:15; 7:10,14; 11:8)

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