Tuesday; January 14
One of the things I find
fascinating about aging is seeing how modern circumstances seem to be a replay
of past events. Current political
adversaries are often the ones we have found ourselves with odds with in the
past. Social issues such as
homelessness, poverty, injustice and equality run deep into the past. Hate and prejudice aren’t new, they are often
reboots of conflicts that have existed for centuries.
The reason I bring this up is
to hold out hope that our world is not nearly hopeless as we might think. Sometimes it seems like things are spiraling
toward an abysmal end, but the truth of the matter is that we have been here
before. Sure, life may appear to be
off-kilter – and we can do better – but
let’s not give into the naysayers who echo Chicken Little’s credo that the sky
is falling!
Looking back in reflection can do a couple of things for us: First, it can cause us to review history and
see what can be learned from the past.
George Santayana is quoted as saying, “Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it.” while Edmond Burke noted, “People will not
look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”. Let’s learn the lessons of the past so that
we can do better in the present (and the future). Second, reflection can help us avoid being
too disillusioned with modern society. King
Solomon observed, “What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again; there
is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). We should be committed to doing what we can
to try to repair the things that are amiss not just give up out of hopelessness. We are the hope that things can be better,
but even when they aren’t as good as they can (and should) be let’s realize the
world has been in this shape before and it continued to exist.
Let’s
hang in there and combine history with hope.
When we do that, we can make a difference.
Think About It!