"I would find myself getting deeply distressed if I lived in hindsight all the time"
- Andrew Lincoln
Hind sight. A time when you look back over something that's happened and think about how it might have been different. Ever experienced it?
Today I was reminded of this concept of Hind sight, looking back and wishing it was different. Let me explain. One of the great things about my job is that I get to work with and meet people from all walks of life. Today was no different.
As part of my work today, I managed to meet a lady who used to work and live in Germany. It was great to talk to her about life in Germany and the way that things are done there. You would never think that somewhere like Germany, a member of Europe like us, and a strong economy, could have such a different society to our own here in the UK. But it has.
During the conversation, the area of history was brought up, in particular the topic of World War 2. It was interesting to know how this topic was approached by people in Germany.
Here in the UK, World War 2 is a huge part of our heritage, a huge part of our history. Even to this day pupils in schools across the country are taught about the facts and figures associated with World War 2. And it's not just schools. Remembrance day and armed forces day are all times when we reflect on this important time in our history. Germany however - quite the opposite.
I was amazed to find out that World War 2 is one that is absolutely not taught in school. It is not talked about. It is left to be forgotten. In fact the words 'Adolf Hitler' are banned in the country. World War 2 is simply a time in the past that Germany wants to forget. People there won't talk about it as it is considered shameful. Quite the opposite to us in the UK. They simply want to forget that particular time in their past. Hind sight is something they have to struggle to live with.
As the lady was taking about this, a part of me felt somewhat sad for those people in Germany. The decisions of one man have left them feeling ashamed of their past, and yet it's nothing to do with those people living in Germany now. To be left regretting past events is an awful thing to live with. Certainly a time when hind sight would have been a wonderful thing.
So where am I going with this? Well here's what got me thinking...
As she spoke about the people in Germany trying to forget their past, I was reminded of hind sight in my own life. I'm sure, like me, you have times in your life where hind sight would have been a great thing to have. Those times you look back and think "If only I had....". Those times when a tardis would be really helpful, to go back and change the past.
And so I end with this thought.
All of us make mistakes. FACT! No one is perfect and we all have things in our past that maybe we look on and wish we hadn't. Hind sight. That thought that if we could go back, we would undo what we have done. But why?
I don't think 'hind sight' is all it's cracked up to be and here's why!
The truth is our mistakes and failures are all part of making us who we are. They build us to be the people we are. Sure, we can look back on past times and think "If only I had done that differently", but the truth is you are who you are today because of those times. We shouldn't use those times to hold us back, we should use those times to make us stronger, better people.
Truth is, we learn from our mistakes. People in Germany try to erase the past by trying to forget it, but truth is it will always be there. It's part of history and it's made the world what it is today. Not just Britain and Germany, but countries across the world.
In your life, don't look back on past problems or mistakes and wish they'd go away. Don't try to erase it from history, but use those times to build you up, to learn and to move on as a stronger person. It is, after all, those mistakes that have made you and brought you to where you are today.
Remember - Life doesn't come with a tardis, but it does come with experiences!
Life happens - Bywyd yn digwydd
Ryan :)
No comments:
Post a Comment